A Visit to Grandma and Grandpa's
by teddyshoney
Summary: Kurt and Blaine have gone back to Lima to visit Burt and Carole who have recently found out about Blaine being little. Blaine is nervous about showing this side of himself to someone other than Daddy, and Daddy isn't sure he made the right choice for his little Blainers. WARNING: CONTAINS AGE PLAY AND POSSIBLE SPANKING. Same 'verse as Cookie Tantrums and Daddy Makes the Best Voices
1. Arriving

Blaine was feeling a little nervous as he and Daddy piled into the car for their trip back to Lima. Daddy's parents had invited them to come for four days and were excited to see "their boys" as Carole liked to say. Blaine knew he shouldn't feel nervous. They'd gone to Burt and Carole's before, and everything had been fine. The difference was that this time, he was going to be little there, something he'd never done before.

Kurt had told Burt and Carole all about their arrangement one night, and they had immediately fallen in love with the idea of little Blaine. They knew about Blaine's past and some of the abuses he'd suffered at the hands of his parents, brother, and schoolmates, so they understood why it helped. But that didn't make Blaine feel like it would be any less embarrassing.

"Do we gotta go?" he asked Daddy nervously as Daddy helped him buckle his seat belt.

"Are you nervous?" Kurt asked, brushing a finger gently over Blaine's cheek.

"Uh huh."

"You don't need to be nervous, baby. Grandma and Grandpa are going to love you."

"But what if they don't?"

"They will. They loved you before you were little, and they'll love my little boy even more."

Blaine was silent for a moment. Then, "How do you know?"

Daddy started the car and pulled out onto the street, driving a little way before he said anything. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course!" Blaine said, sounding almost hurt. "You're my daddy! You'd never lie to me." 

"Then I need you to trust that I'm not lying now. Grandma and Grandpa will love you, and if they say anything mean, we'll leave. Okay, baby?"

"'kay, Daddy." Blaine settled back in his seat and looked out the window, watching as they left their little suburban New York neighborhood and headed into the countryside on their long drive to Ohio. After seeing several trees that looked suspiciously familiar, he asked, "Daddy, how much longer?"

Kurt laughed. "We've got a long way to go, Blaine. Do you want to listen to our audio book now? Or would you like music or your game?"

"Music!" Blaine said happily, leaning over to plug in the iPod and pull up one of his favorite songs. He and Daddy passed much of the ride singing and dancing to a mixture of show tunes and the latest pop records. They stopped a few times for potty breaks and snacks. Eventually, however, Blaine began to feel tired, singing and dancing less and less as he leaned his head against the window. He began picking slower songs, turning down the volume just a bit and letting his eyes drift shut to the soothing sounds of a song.

"Take your nap, sweetheart," Daddy said after a while, leaning over to gently pluck the iPod from his hands.

"Daddyyy," Blaine tried to protest, stifling a yawn. "I do it!"

"You're sleepy. Take your nap. We'll be there when you wake up."

That sounded nice to Blaine. Driving was boring, and that sun did feel nice shining in on his curls and warming him up. He grabbed his travel pillow and Jack Rabbit from the backseat and snuggled in.

Daddy kissed his hand affectionately. "Love you, baby. Sleep tight."

"Night," Blaine murmured before sailing off into dream land.

A few hours later, the boys pulled into Burt and Carole's driveway. As the car came to a stop and Kurt killed the engine, Blaine stirred a bit. "Daddy?" he asked sleepily.

"Hi, baby. We're here."

Blaine rubbed at his eyes, stretching a bit. "We're home?" he mumbled.

"No," Kurt chuckled. "We're at Grandma and Grandpa's."

That woke Blaine up. He looked at Kurt, panicked. "Wanna go home," he whimpered.

"Shhh," Kurt told him. "It's going to be okay. Grandma and Grandpa are going to love you." He leaned across the center console to kiss Blaine's cheek. "Come help me get our bags," he prompted as he opened his door. It wasn't that he didn't sympathize with Blaine; he knew he was always nervous when they introduced new people to this part of their lives, but he also knew that Burt and Carole were safe. They were going to love Blaine and spoil him to pieces. Blaine just didn't know it yet.

Slowly, Blaine climbed out of the car, looking cautiously around as if someone would suspect he was little just by how he got out of the car. He didn't see anyone, so he hurried to the trunk where Daddy was pulling out their luggage, grabbing at Daddy's waist and hiding behind him.

Kurt hid a sigh. Apparently, simple reassurance wasn't helping. Turning in the little boy's grip, he wrapped his arms around Blaine. "Listen," he said quietly. "I know you're nervous. There is nothing to be afraid of. Grandma and Grandpa aren't going to do anything bad to you. I promise. I'll be with you the whole time. If they do try to say something mean, we will pack up and leave immediately. I love you, and I won't put you in a situation where someone can hurt you. Do you understand?"

From his place against Daddy's chest, Blaine nodded. "Jus' nervous," he mumbled.

"I know. You can stay behind me if that helps," Kurt soothed, rubbing a few circles on Blaine's back. "But you can't hold onto me. I'll fall."

Blaine nodded again and let go, picking up their bathroom bag, a bag with some toys in it, and his suitcase handle then followed Daddy toward the house.

Kurt stopped at the passenger door of their car and retrieved Jack Rabbit, handing him to Blaine. "Jack will help you feel better," Daddy reassured as they began their trek toward the door again.

As they approached, Carole opened the door, a huge smile lighting up her face. "Kurt! Blaine! You're here!"

A wave of fear rushed through Blaine's body, and he squeezed his rabbit tightly. He wished he could crawl onto Daddy's lap and hide his face, but Daddy had a bunch of bags, and he didn't want to make him fall. So, he settled for making himself as small as possible and taking small steps onto the porch.

"Carole!" Kurt exclaimed, setting down a bag he was carrying to wrap an arm around her. "How are you and Dad?" he asked.

"We're doing just fine, even better now that our boys are home," she said, hugging him back. "Hi, Blaine." She smiled over Kurt's shoulder.

"Hi," Blaine whispered, wishing to be anywhere but there.

Carole came around Kurt to give Blaine a hug but stopped short when she saw the expression on his face. Instead, she turned her attention back to Kurt, holding the door open for him so he and Blaine could bring their bags inside. "You must be tired," she said to them as they stepped into the living room. "That's a long drive."

"Blaine napped on the way here, and I had a bit off caffeine," Kurt explained, heading for the stairs. "So, we'll just go up and put our things away and be right back down. We won't be long," he promised.

"Take your time," Carole told him, heading to the kitchen. "I'm going to make us some tea."

Blaine trailed Daddy up the stairs to Daddy's old room, following his directions on where to put the bags. He expected Daddy would want to unpack and put things away since they were going to be staying for a whole week, so he was surprised when, instead, Daddy set the bags down and gathered him into a hug.

"You okay, baby?" he asked.

Blaine nodded against him. "Uh huh."

Kurt didn't say anything else for a moment, taking the bags that Blaine was holding and setting them down, too, before sitting down on the bed and motioning for Blaine to join him. The boy snuggled into his lap, and he rubbed the baby's back as Blaine leaned against his shoulder, soaking up Daddy's comfort. "We can stay up here as long as you need," he whispered.

"I'm okay. Really."

"You're being a really brave boy for me," Daddy smiled. "I'm so proud of you." He hugged Blaine to his chest and rocked for a minute. When he stopped, he could feel Blaine's grip on him tighten possessively. "I won't leave you, baby."

"I know."

"I talked to Grandma and Grandpa before we came. They know to give you some space until you don't feel so nervous."

"They don't gotta."

"They understand, baby. They know this is new and hard for you."

Blaine was quiet for a few moments. Then, he slowly slid off of Daddy's lap. He stood and squared his shoulders."I wanna try. If I need help, I tell you."

"Okay. Should we go down and have some tea with Grandma?"

Blaine nodded. "Hug?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Daddy.

"As many as you want, monkey," Daddy said, squeezing him close.

After a long moment, Blaine let go. "We go now," he said

"Are you sure? We can stay up here longer."

"We go," Blaine insisted, taking Kurt's hand. "'m okay."

Kurt felt helpless. Blaine wasn't acting like he was okay, and as much as he was trying to put on a brave face for his little boy, Kurt was as nervous as Blaine. He knew that Burt and Carole really would love Blaine. They were going to shower him with presents and love and all the other things he never got as a child. But, they were unfamiliar with all of this, and it was hard to know what to say and how to react sometimes; Kurt understood that better than anyone. He wasn't worried that they'd be mean on purpose; Blaine just had so many triggers from his past that something innocent could set him off and ruin his opinion of Burt and Carole before they'd really had a chance to prove themselves.

Heaving a deep sigh, Kurt followed Blaine down the stairs, the little boy clutching his hand tighter with every step. When they got back to the living room, they found Carole sitting on the couch, a tray with tea and cookies on the coffee table in front of her. "Are you settled?" she asked with a warm smile.

"We didn't unpack," Kurt explained as he took a seat next to Carole, Blaine sitting closely on his other side. "We just dropped everything off and made sure we didn't forget anything."

Carole nodded as though she believed him and moved the conversation to a new topic, practically ignoring Blaine. She asked Kurt about his job, how he enjoyed working from home, and what he and Rachel had talked about the last time they'd gotten together. As they talked, though, she kept an eye on Blaine, waiting for the little boy to give a signal that it would be okay for her to talk to him. Finally, she saw him eyeing the tray of cookies. Softly, she said, "Blaine, you can have a cookie if you want. If it's okay with your daddy." The second sentence felt a little funny in her mouth, but she pushed that feeling away. She'd get used to it eventually.

Blaine looked at Kurt with big eyes, not speaking.

"You can have a cookie," Kurt said. "But, you need to use your manners."

"Thank you," Blaine whispered, hand already half way back to his mouth with a large cookie.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Carole replied. "Are chocolate chip cookies your favorite?"

Blaine nodded.

"Baby, words please," Kurt reminded.

With a blush, Blaine mumbled, "Yes."

"Maybe we can make some this week," Carole offered. "I'm almost out, and they're Finn's favorite, too."

Blaine was so excited, he didn't even flinch at the mention of another person seeing him be little. "Really?" he asked, bouncing a little on the couch cushion. "Tha' would be fun!"

"It's a date then." Carole poured herself another cup of tea, a huge smile on her face.

Kurt rubbed Blaine's back as he ate another cookie. It was a little embarrassing to do the parenting thing in front of Carole, but he'd have to get used to it. This was how it was for them and being inconsistent would not be good for Blaine, especially not when they were in a new situation. "Where's Dad?" he asked.

"He went to the shop today." When she caught sight of Kurt's confused expression, she explained, "Yes, he did retire. Finn has taken over, for the most part. But one of the guys was out today, so he went down to fill in."

"That's really hard on him. He should be taking it easy so he doesn't stress his heart," Kurt fretted.

"He's fine," Carole said. "I used to worry, too, but honestly, he loves it. I think he'd stress his heart more if he had to sit around the house every single day."

"Doesn't he have...Congress stuff to do?"

"Not all the time," Carole laughed. "He prefers to do most of that on the plane anyway."

Kurt was about to open his mouth to say something else when he felt a small tug on his shirt sleeve.

"Daddy?"

He looked at Blaine.

"'m firsty," Blaine whispered.

"Do you want milk or water?"

"Um, milk."

"And what do you say?" For some reason, when Blaine was nervous, the first thing to go where his manners.

"Please," he blushed.

"Good boy," Kurt praised, kissing his forehead. "I'll be right back." He hurried upstairs and grabbed the bag they'd packed the necessities in then went to the kitchen to pour his baby a sippy cup of milk.

"Fanks," Blaine said when Daddy handed him the cup.

"You're welcome, munchkin. Do you want to color?" Kurt pulled a superhero coloring book and some crayons out of the bag. "You could make a picture for Grandma to hang on the fridge? I'm sure she'd like that."

Blaine nodded. "I make a pretty picture," he said, reaching out for the coloring book and crayons with his free hand.

"Who are you going to color?" Carole asked, crouching down next to him as he made himself comfortable on the floor.

"Umm," he said, thinking. "Who do you yike?"

"I like Spiderman," she offered, seeing him on the front cover.

"I color him for you?" Blaine asked around the sippy cup in his mouth.

"I'd like that!" Carole exclaimed, nodding. "You can color Spiderman for me."

"Okay!" Blaine said, flipping through the pages until he found one. "You yike this one?" He showed her the book again.

"That's a good one," Carole confirmed. "You should color him."

"I make him pretty for you," Blaine promised, turning his attention to the crayons spread out before him.

Kurt smiled, glad to see Blaine coming out of his shell a bit, even though he was still being quite reserved. He had been afraid that the afternoon would be much clingier and tearier than it had been. It was a relief to see him starting to relax with Carole. It certainly helped that she was being very attentive to how Blaine was feeling. She was already a pro at this.

Kurt and Carole made pleasant conversation about various people in Lima and the things that Burt was voting on in Washington for quite a while, watching Blaine color and enjoying their tea. They were so involved in their conversation that they didn't hear Burt pull into the garage or come into the house until they heard his voice in the doorway.

"Hi-ya, Kurt! Hey, Carole! Hi, Blaine! Come give Grandpa a hug!" He crouched and opened his arms, clearly waiting for Blaine to come running to give him a hug.

Instead, Blaine burst into tears on the floor, scrambling up and into Daddy's lap.


	2. Guilt

"Shhh. Shhh, baby. You're okay," Kurt soothed as he rubbed Blaine's back, rocking the little boy back and forth as he cried. "Grandpa didn't mean to scare you." He shot Burt a glare, but the man already looked a little wounded by all the goings on, so Kurt regretted it just a bit.

"I'll be right back," Carole told him, standing up and walking toward the kitchen. She grabbed Burt's arm and dragged him along, too. "You have to be more careful," she told him quietly when they were safely out of sight.

"I didn't mean to do anything to him, Carole," Burt protested, holding up his hands. "I was just saying hello to the kid."

"I know you didn't mean to scare him," Carole soothed. "That's not what I meant. Kurt told us he was shy, though. Remember? You have to take things slow. They've been here for a few hours, and he's just barely talked to me."

"Yeah. I remember that," Burt said with a sigh, as he went to the cupboard to pull out a glass. "I guess I just figured that since he already knew us, it wouldn't be a big deal."

"Well, it is," Carole said firmly, pouring sweet tea into her husband's glass. "He's nervous about what we'll think of him being little. So you have to slow down. Please." She looked up at him, waiting for confirmation.

"Alright. I'll try to take it slower with the little guy," Burt promised. "I'm just excited." A fond, happy grin formed on his face. "I've always wanted to be a grandpa."

"I know you have," Carole told him, giving him an affectionate squeeze around the waist. "And you're going to be a fantastic one. You just have to give him some time to warm up. I'm sure he'll be a happy, bubbly kid in no time. Just give him his space for now."

"Yes, ma'am," Burt said, giving his wife a kiss before they went back to the living room.

Kurt had Blaine mostly calmed down now. He was still sitting in Daddy's lap, but the tears had stopped, and he mostly just sniffling as he listened to Daddy quietly talking to him. His abandoned coloring book and sippy cup were still on the floor where he'd left them.

Burt settled himself into a chair across the room and took a long drink of his sweet tea. "I'm real sorry," he said as he put the glass down next to him. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright, Dad," Kurt said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "We know you didn't mean it."

Burt smiled but wasn't sure what to say, so he just sat in the chair, eyes averted, waiting.

Kurt went back to his murmuring. "Blaine, are you feeling better?" he whispered.

Blaine gave him a tiny nod.

"Good. You're being such a brave boy for me," Daddy praised.

Blaine couldn't help the little smile that formed on his face even as he hid himself in Daddy's chest.

"Do you want to go back and color some more? Your Spiderman looks beautiful."

Blaine shrugged. He had been having a good time coloring and drinking his milk until Burt came in.

"Grandma will be so happy when it's done," Kurt said. "She'll hang it up on the fridge right away. Why don't you go finish it?"

"You come," Blaine whispered in his ear.

"I"ll be right here," Kurt promised. "You can color it, baby. You're almost done."

"You come" Blaine begged again.

"Do you want me to put you down on the floor with your coloring book?"

Blaine didn't move, so Kurt got up from the couch, holding Blaine on his hip, and took him back over to the spot in front of the coffee table where he'd been coloring before. He tried to set the boy down on the floor, but Blaine clung to him.

"Don't you want to color?" Kurt asked him.

Blaine shook his head vigorously. He did want to color, but he wanted Daddy more. Burt coming in unannounced had scared him, but his demand for a hug had made him feel very insecure, and he didn't want anyone else but Daddy right now. "Stay wif you," he mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked, resigning himself to the possibility that Blaine would be attached to him for a while.

"Stay wif you," Blaine said again, a little firmer, and hung on tight.

"Okay," Kurt said. He gathered up the colors and coloring book as best as he could with one hand, then collected the sippy cup from the floor and returned to his seat on the couch.

Blaine snuggled into his daddy's lap, finally feeling a little bit better now that he knew that Daddy wasn't going to force him to get down. He knew that he probably looked ridiculous, a grown man clinging to his boyfriend for dear life, and a large part of his brain told him that he should cut it out. This display of insecurity and vulnerability would only make Burt and Carole dislike him more, but he couldn't deal with those thoughts in little space. He knew Daddy made him feel better, and Daddy said that was all that mattered. So, he pushed away those big person thoughts that he was having and focused on listening to the rhythm of Kurt's heart until he felt calmer. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

Kurt was surprised that Blaine had fallen asleep. He knew that Blaine was having a stressful time dealing with the new people, but he hadn't realized how badly his baby must have been feeling. So, he smoothed some curls out of his face and kissed his forehead, rocking a bit. After a few minutes, he looked at his dad who was still sitting awkwardly across the room. "I'm sorry about that, Dad," he said softly. "I didn't think he'd react quite that way to seeing you." 

"Carole said I came on too fast," Burt said, looking sheepish. "She said I need to slow down."

"Slowing down would be nice," Kurt said, trying to tread carefully. "But even I didn't expect him to react like that. I think he's just really nervous. And he doesn't do well with nerves." Kurt thought about the times they'd let others know about their relationship.

With Sam, it had been easy. Blaine had loved Sam from the first day that he met him, and Sam was so good with kids that it just came naturally. There had been a few minutes of awkwardness, but they had clicked almost instantly. Now, Blaine practically begged for Sam to babysit whenever Kurt needed to go out and do anything that Blaine couldn't go along to.

It had been a little more difficult with their doctor, but Blaine had known it would be necessary since he hadn't wanted to act grown up when they'd gone for his appointment. There were a few other friends that knew as they had dropped by their apartment on occasion, but they hadn't stayed long so it hadn't been a problem.

Kurt realized that this was the first time they were really letting anyone substantial into this part of their lives. Being away from home probably didn't help, and Kurt was being less than sympathetic. Now he felt really bad. Maybe this had been a terrible idea.

"Well, I'm just going to sit back, let him come to me," Burt said. "How was your drive?" He didn't want to talk about this anymore. He felt badly, and he could clearly see that Kurt did, too.

"It was fine," Kurt said, bringing his attention back to his father. "Nothing eventful happened."

The two of them made conversation for a while about various things like what Burt had been working on in the shop that day, how Finn had handled a particularly angry customer a few weeks back, and the congressman that Burt sat next to the last time they were in session and how badly he smelled. It was familiar, and they both fell into their roles easily, almost as if Blaine wasn't asleep on Kurt's lap.

Not that Burt could really forget that fact, however. He couldn't keep himself from watching Blaine sleep, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something so right about him curled up in Kurt's lap, his thumb near his mouth, long eye lashes lying beautifully against his cheeks. He looked perfect there, so natural, and Burt felt a little silly for thinking that getting used to this would be hard. Maybe the reason getting used to Kurt and Blaine when they were just a couple had been hard because it hadn't been quite right. Whatever the reason, this was perfect, and Burt was thrilled that it was happening.

Kurt couldn't forget about Blaine either. Normally, he loved it when Blaine slept on him. There was something so endearing about feeling his warm breath blowing consistently on his neck as he slept, the way he looked so happy and content, how beautiful he was. In front of his dad, though, it was making him self-conscious. He wanted to wake Blaine up, but that never went well, so he let him rest, resisting the urge to rock him like he would have if they were home.

"Dinner's ready," came Carole's soft voice from the kitchen doorway, and Kurt and Burt swung their heads in her direction suddenly, startled. Neither of them had even noticed when she left the living room, taking the tea and cookie tray with her, and they hadn't heard any sounds of dinner being made. "Finn will be home in a few minutes, so I thought you could help me set the table," she said to Burt. "That will give you a minute to let Blaine wake up."

Kurt smiled at her from the couch. "Thanks," he said softly, and waited until his parents had left the room before gently nudging the sleeping boy on his lap. "Hey, baby," he whispered. "Time to wake up."

Blaine stirred and whined but didn't open his eyes.

"Blaine. Sweetheart, it's time to wake up now." He nudged him a little more, rubbing his thumb over his cheek.

"S'eepy," came the mumbled answer as Blaine readjusted his position.

"I know. But it's time to eat. So you need to wake up now."

Blaine whined again but slowly opened his eyes, blinking owlishly around as he adjusted to the light. "Where we?" he asked in a raspy voice, looking confused.

"We're at Grandma and Grandpa's, remember?" Kurt asked him. "You got upset when Grandpa got home, and you came to sit on my lap."

Blaine clutched at Daddy then, suddenly panicked. "Wanna go home," he whimpered, pressing into Daddy as close as he could and hiding his face.

"Honey," Kurt started, going to tell him again that everything was going to be okay, but stopped. "Is that what you really want?" he asked finally.

Blaine peeked up at him with one eye, taking in his morose expression. He sat up quickly at that and patted Kurt's cheek. "Daddy sad?" he asked.

"Yeah, baby. A little."

"Why?"

"I don't think I've been very nice to you," he confessed. "You've been really scared of this visit since before we got here, and I haven't done a very good job of making you feel safe."

"You wrong," Blaine said, shaking his head vigorously.

"No. It's true. I just keep telling you that you will be fine instead of listening to you when you tell me that you are upset or nervous."

"You wrong," Blaine repeated, still shaking his head.

"How?"

"Daddy is safe," Blaine pronounced. "Daddy is safe, so that's why I falled asleep. 'm okay if I'm wif you." He patted Kurt's chest, right above his heart. "I listen to your heart, and I falled asleep."

Kurt was skeptical. "Why did you cry and refuse to be put down when Grandpa got home, then?" he questioned.

Blaine shrugged. "Was scary," he said. "Don't like loud s'prise noise."

"So Grandpa startled you?"

"Uh huh. "S'prise noise is bad."

"But you were okay after you came and got me?"

Blaine nodded again. "Daddy is safe."

"Okay, baby. But I want you to tell me when you get nervous. I want to talk about it with you and help you find a way to feel better. Okay?"

"'kay, Daddy." Blaine crossed his heart. "Pwomise."

"Good. Are you hungry now?"

"I guess..."

"Uncle Finn will be here, too, with Grandma and Grandpa and us."

Blaine's face looked a little defeated. "Don' wanna see Unka Finn. He's a meanie."

"I know you two didn't get along well before," Kurt reassured, rubbing the boy's back. "But I want you to give him a chance. Finn's changed a little. Grown up. I think he will be excited to see you."

With a scowl, he repeated, "He's a meanie."

"You still have to be nice to him," Kurt reminded. "And if he's mean, we'll leave. Okay? I'll be with you the whole time."

Blaine nodded. "'kay."

"Are you ready then?"

"Daddy carry?" 

"I need you to walk like a big boy right now. My legs fell asleep while you were sleeping on my lap." He grinned and patted Blaine's back, giving him a tiny nudge toward the floor.

Blaine giggled, getting up from Daddy's lap and standing by the edge of the couch. He waited for Kurt to stand and helped to steady him on his numb, buzzing legs. Then, the two of them made their way into the kitchen, Kurt doing a strange, limpy walk as they went.

When they arrived, they found Burt, Carole, and Finn already seated at the table. There were several steaming dishes in the middle of the table and plates, silverware, and drinks were all set before each chair. Kurt smiled when he saw that Carole had already filled Blaine's sippy cup up with something and had a plastic divided plate sitting in the chair designated for Blaine.

Finn looked up from his phone when they walked into the room, and his eyes lit on Kurt. "Hey, Kurt!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Finn," Kurt said back, getting Blaine situated in his chair before sitting down himself.

Finn turned his eyes to Blaine, and they narrowed, a slight sneer curling his lip. "Hi...baby," he spat.


	3. Dinner

So, I hadn't really intended to work solely on this fic, but I'm kind of addicted, so I will probably update this story until it's finished. On that note, warning for possible triggering material in this chapter. Finn is intentionally mean to Blaine, and Blaine has a panic attack. If you feel that this may be triggering to you, I suggest you skip to the first 14 paragraphs or so. There will be a happy ending to this story, though. I promise!

* * *

"Finn Hudson," Carole said sharply. "Why would you say something like that?"

Blaine's chine wobbled dangerously as he sat down at the table. He tried to put on a brave face for Daddy. He had said to be nice to Finn, even though Finn was a meanie. Plus, calling him a baby wasn't really mean; that's what he was now, right?"

Finn shrugged, smiling evilly at Blaine across the table. "Blaine doesn't mind, do you...baby?" he asked.

Blaine couldn't help the tears that slipped out now. He turned to Kurt. "Want you," he begged him, arms reaching for him.

Kurt pulled Blaine's chair closer to his and allowed him to slide into his lap as he turned a glare to his step-brother. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked loudly.

"I'm just saying hi to baby Blaine," Finn said nonchalantly.

"You're 'just' being an asshole," Kurt said. "You need to stop."

"Well, that's what he is, isn't he?" Finn asked, raising his voice. "He's just a freakin' baby now that you have to take care of like some fucking leach or something."

"Finn!" Burt and Carole both stood at the same time. "You cannot talk to my son that way," Burt all but yelled. "If you can't leave them alone and eat your dinner, you're welcome to leave!"

"Maybe I will," Finn shouted back, standing, his chair sliding backward violently. "I don't really need to see my brother being taken advantage of by some fuckin' baby that thinks he can't take care of himself. It's disgusting." He looked directly at Blaine, pointing. "You're disgusting, and if you knew what was good for you, you'd fuckin' leave Kurt."

Blaine only cried harder at this, and buried his head in Kurt's shoulder. "No, no, no, no," he repeated over and over again trying to drown out the sound of angry yelling and insults. He couldn't think about that. He wasn't bad. Daddy said it was okay. Kurt said it was okay. It was okay. He was okay. He couldn't think. He couldn't. He couldn't. It wasn't true. It was okay. Daddy—Kurt said it was okay. Kurt said.

When it appeared that Finn wasn't going to make any move to leave despite claiming that he would, Kurt stood and hurried out of the room, Blaine firmly in his arms. He climbed the stairs to his old room and slammed the door shut with his foot. He tried to remain calm for Blaine, his first priority. But it was hard. He was pissed. He was seeing red. What right did Finn have to come in and tell him what he could do with his life? What business did Finn have trying to tell his husband, of all people, what to do? But Kurt couldn't focus on those thoughts right now. He needed to focus on the hysterical little boy in his arms right then.

He quickly laid Blaine down on the bed, intending to lie next to him and help him calm down, but Blaine scrambled to hold onto him as soon as his back hit the mattress, clutching his shirt, his cries becoming louder and more insistent.

"Okay. Okay. I'll hold you. Shh. Shh. You're going to make yourself sick, baby. You have to calm down." He sat on the edge of the bed, holding Blaine close and rocking back and forth, waiting for his sobs to lessen. He thought he could hear him mumbling something that sounded like, "No, no, no, no." A shiver of fear went through him. Blaine hadn't had an anxiety attack like that for a long time; here, in Kurt's childhood bedroom, Kurt felt unprepared to deal with that again. But he had to. For Blaine.

So, he kept up his gentle patter, rubbing his boy's back, and rocking him gently until all he heard was snuffles and the occasional hiccup. "Blaine?" he asked cautiously, not sure where his head was.

"Mmm?" he heard. Well, that didn't help.

"Can you talk to me?" he asked.

Blaine sat back a little, looking at Daddy with red eyes.

He looked so sad and exhausted. Kurt's heart broke even more, seeing his baby like this. He wiped Blaine's cheeks with his palms, cleaning away the sticky tears. Then, he helped Blaine blow his nose before giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "Can you tell me what made you so upset?" he asked at last.

"'m bad," came Blaine's tiny voice, his chin wobbling again at the admission.

"No. No you're not. You're not bad at all," Kurt told him firmly, gripping his shoulders and looking into his eyes. "You're my good, good boy. You are not bad."

"But Finn-" Blaine started.

"Was a jerk," Kurt finished, not wanting him to say it out loud. "He had no idea what he was talking about."

Blaine was quiet for a minute. He seemed to be thinking, and Kurt didn't want to interrupt, so he stayed silent, watching his baby. Finally, Blaine said, "I'm a baby."

"You're my baby," Kurt clarified.

Blaine nodded. "Is okay?" he asked, not meeting Kurt's eyes.

"Of course," Kurt said. When Blaine still didn't look at him, he hooked a finger under Blaine's chin, lifting it until he met his eyes. "It's perfectly okay that you're my baby. We talked about it. We agreed to it. And it's been a really good thing for you. And me." He maintained eye-contact with Blaine for a minute after he finished speaking to make sure Blaine had understood.

Then, "Finn said I'm a leach."

"Finn was wrong, baby," Kurt said, letting go of his chin. He wanted a hug, so he pulled Blaine close. "Finn doesn't understand our relationship, and he said lots of things he shouldn't."

"But, I'm like a leach," Blaine said. "All I do is cry an' make you hold me."

"Sometimes you do need me like that, but what Finn meant was that it's wrong. And it's not. You are allowed to need me like that."

Blaine was quiet for a minute, thinking again. "Finn said I should leave," he whispered.

Kurt could hear tears in his voice again. "I don't want you to leave," he said quietly, tears forming in his own eyes at the thought. "I don't want you to leave because I love you. You mean everything to me, and I—I wouldn't know what to do without you." The more he talked, the tearier his voice got, but he kept going. Blaine needed to hear this. "I love you so much, and I love our relationship like this. Doing this, you being my baby, makes you feel so much better, and it makes me happy. I would love you just as much if you wanted to go back to being big again, but I love you being little, too." He paused to wipe at his eyes. "You're perfect, Blaine, no matter what part of yourself you want to be."

Wordlessly, Blaine hugged Kurt, squeezing him so tightly Kurt thought he wasn't going to be able to catch his breath again. "I yove you, too, Daddy! And I don' wanna be big. Bein' big is hard. I yike bein' yitt'oh. 'm happy 'n' safe."

"I'm so happy to hear that, sweetheart," Kurt said, holding his boy close. "So happy." He continued to hug Blaine for several long moments before they both pulled back. "I think we should go home tomorrow," Kurt said. "I made a mistake having you be your little self here."

Blaine shook his head. "Uh uh."

"Baby, you've been in tears twice today. I promised you that if someone was mean to you, we'd leave."

"I can be b-" Blaine started.

"No. I don't want you to try to be big. This is my family, and if they can't accept you for who you are, then we're leaving."

"Daddy," Blaine said quietly, patting at his face. "Daddy, we don't gotta yeave. 'm okay."

Kurt felt so uncertain. This trip, so far, had not been good for Blaine, and Kurt desperately wanted to get him out of there. On the other hand, he hadn't seen Burt and Carole in so long, he hated to leave early. "I don't know..." he said.

"You wanna yeave?" Blaine asked.

"Not really," Kurt admitted with a sigh. "I love my dad and Carole. We haven't seen them in so long, and it would be nice to spend some time with them." He didn't add that he loved Finn because he wasn't sure that he did right now. Sure, they had fought when they were in high school, but things had been practically patched over until Finn's latest outburst at the table. Now, Kurt wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to forgive him.

"Then we stay," Blaine said decisively.

"Blaine, you had a panic attack," Kurt said. "You haven't had one of those in a very long time."

"Daddy is safe," Blaine told him, just as he had downstairs. "As yong as you is wif me, 'm okay."

That was a lot of trust Blaine was putting in him, and Kurt wasn't sure he deserved it. "I don't know," he repeated.

"Daddy," Blaine said, sounding a bit frustrated. "You. Is. Safe. 'm oh. Kay. Pwomise."

Kurt sighed again. "Fine." He didn't tell him that if there was another incident they would leave because he didn't want Blaine guarding his emotions just to make Daddy happy. "You're my super brave boy," he told him instead, giving him a big kiss. "Do you know that I'm really proud of you?"

Blaine nodded, beaming now. "Mhm!"

"Good. Because you're my good, good, good, good, good boy. And I love you." With each "good," Kurt placed a kiss on Blaine's face, kissing each cheek, his forehead, and the tip of his nose. That made Blaine giggle, so Kurt did it again. "My good, good, good, good, good boy."

"Daddy! Stop it!" Blaine said, wiping at his face. "Too many kisses!"

"Too many kisses? Too many kisses? How about tickles then?" Kurt asked as he dug into Blaine's very ticklish rib cage.

"Daddy!" he squealed. "No tickles! No!" He dissolved into a fit of laughter as Kurt's fingers continued to brush over his most sensitive places. Finally, he was able to gasp out, "Daddy!"

Kurt stopped at that, letting Blaine catch his breath. He wore a huge smile on his own face, so glad to finally hear his baby laughing.

"Daddy. Hungwy," Blaine told him when he'd finally caught his breath.

"You're hungry?" Kurt asked, chuckling. Now that Blaine mentioned it, his stomach was growling, too. They'd run away from the dinner table, and they hadn't eaten since they were in the car. "I'll run down and bring us up some food," he told the boy as he slid off the bed. "I want you to change into your jammies while I'm down there. Can you do that?"

Blaine nodded. "'m a big boy," he told Daddy, already walking to his suitcase to get out his pajamas.

"Good boy," Kurt told him before he left the room. He walked down the short hallway and down the stairs quietly, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He definitely didn't want to see Finn again that night, and he had no idea if he'd actually left.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he found Carole dishing food onto two plates.

"Oh, Kurt," she said when she saw him. "I was just making two plates to bring up to the two of you. I knew you must be hungry." She gestured lamely at the two plates of pasta she had already filled and set on a tray.

"That's actually what I came down here for," he told her quietly. "Blaine told me he was hungry." Silently, he walked around the kitchen filling cups for them both before taking the tray.

As he turned to leave the kitchen, Carole said, "I'm sorry, Kurt, about Finn. I had no idea he felt that way or that he would make a scene like that. I—we understand if you and Blaine want to-"

"We're not leaving," Kurt told her. "I wanted to, but Blaine convinced me that we should stay and give it one more chance." He took another step toward the door then turned back toward her. "It's not your fault, by the way," he said. "We aren't upset with you and Dad. This is Finn's fault, his problem. He's a grown man, now, and he may still live here, but you aren't responsible for his opinions. Or his outbursts." He took a few more steps, pausing in the doorway. "We love you and Dad, but we won't be coming back downstairs tonight. Blaine's had a rough day, and he's going to go to bed soon. So, good night. We'll see you in the morning. I hope it's a better day." And with that, he took the tray and walked back up the stairs to his baby.

Blaine was more than happy to eat pasta in his pajamas as well as the cookies Carole had sneaked onto the tray, hidden underneath a napkin. He wasn't happy that Daddy made him wear a bib, protesting, "But, 'm a big boy!" He still had to wear it, however, but Daddy let him feed himself. So, he was happy again in no time, noisily slurping down the pasta until his plate was clean.

Then, much to Blaine's surprise, Kurt agreed that they could watch Netflix. He set up Blaine's favorite program on his laptop, and they cuddled against the headboard, Blaine slowly slurping down his sippy cup of milk as he watched.

Kurt didn't pay much attention to the show, thinking over the events of the evening again and strengthening his resolve that they would leave if there were any more problems. He glanced down at Blaine as he ran his fingers through a few of his wild curls. He had the most beautiful boy in the world, and he wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lucky. He did know that he'd protect his boy at all costs, though, and that was good enough for now.

Against his better judgment, Kurt let Blaine watch Netflix until he fell asleep. He felt like he deserved it after the day he'd had. "And tomorrow's going to be better," he whispered to himself as he tucked Blaine into bed. "It has to be."

* * *

So, not that I've run out of ideas, but I would love to know if you guys had any requests for stories in this universe or any of my other universes. Or, if you just have a request that you'd like to see written, send it my way. I enjoy writing things for other people, and I'd be happy to do that. So, feel free to comment on this story. Thanks for reading!


	4. The Park

A/N: You guys! I'm sorry for the loooooooong pause between updates. I wanted to finish this story before I posted any more, and then the story completely ran away from me. What I had intended to be a quick, three chapter, sweet story turned into a long, angst filled story. But, everyone will be happy in the end! Promise!

* * *

When Kurt woke the next morning, he was surprised to find that Blaine was already awake, lying quietly next to him, chewing on Jack Rabbit's ear. "Morning, baby," he rasped, stretching to kiss Blaine's cheek. "How did you sleep?"

"Hi, Daddy," Blaine mumbled, snuggling closer. He was still chewing on Jacks' ear, and he seemed far away.

Daddy pulled at the stuffed animal until it popped out of Blaine's mouth. "What's the matter?" he asked quietly, planting a few more feather-light kisses on the baby's cheek.

"Nuffin," Blaine said, not looking at him.

"Are you my little liar this morning, then?" Kurt asked.

Blaine sighed. "'m jus' finkin' 'bout Unca Finn."

"Why are you thinking about Uncle Finn, sweetheart?" Kurt asked, concerned. "Remember last night when I told you that he didn't know what he was talking about? I meant that. He was wrong."

"I know that," Blaine insisted, turning to look at Daddy for the first time that morning. "I fink Unca Finn's sad."

"He's sad?"

"Uh huh."

"And how do you know that?" Kurt asked. He knew Blaine could be very perceptive; he always had been. But he was having a hard time seeing how Blaine could be right about this, especially after last night's blow up.

"Jus' is," Blaine said matter-of-factly. "When you gets grumpy, sometimes you is jus' sad." He couldn't explain it any better than that, and anyway, he was tired of talking about that. He rolled onto his side and patted at Daddy's cheek. "'m hungry," he announced.

"Alright, baby," Kurt said. He wanted to know more about why Blaine thought Finn was sad, but maybe he could talk to him about it later. He captured the baby's lips in a quick kiss before he sat up. "Why don't you go change out of your pjs, and then we can go downstairs?"

Blaine shook his head. "Want you do it," he said.

"You want me to help you?" Kurt clarified.

Blaine nodded. "Want you do it."

Kurt didn't say anything, simply going to Blaine's suitcase and picking out an outfit for him. He came back to the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling at Blaine's arm to get him to sit up. The baby's request for help as well as his silence was unusual for him, and Kurt was worried. Maybe they should leave after all. He didn't want Blaine getting upset and trying to hide it to protect him. That would just cause a meltdown later, and Kurt wouldn't be doing his job very well if he allowed that to happen.

After he got Blaine dressed, he dressed himself and helped the little boy brush his teeth and run a comb through his curls. When they were all ready, he asked, "You ready to go get some breakfast, baby?"

Blaine held his arms up, silently begging to be carried.

Something was definitely going on. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked as he headed downstairs with Blaine on his hip.

Blaine nodded. "Jus' sweepy, Daddy."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt asked. "We could have cuddled so you could go back to sleep."

Blaine shrugged. "Hungry."

Kurt chuckled, pinching his cheeks. "Okay. We'll get you some breakfast then. But Blaine," he said, pausing before they entered the kitchen, "you'll tell me if something is bothering you, right, monkey? So I can help fix it?"

Blaine nodded. "Pwomise."

"Good boy," Kurt praised, carrying him into the kitchen. Burt was at the table, reading the paper and nursing a cup of coffee. He had an empty plate in front of him, so he had clearly already eaten. Carole was at the sink, washing a few dishes. Kurt was caught in how familiar this looked and took a moment before carrying his boy to the table and sitting down.

"Morning, boys," Burt greeted gruffly, sparing a glance at them over the top of his newspaper. "Did you have a good night?"

Kurt could tell he was trying to act normally despite how upsetting the previous night had been for them all. "We did. Blaine and I watched a show and then we fell asleep."

Blaine scrunched down in Kurt's lap, hiding his face. He didn't feel like talking to anybody. He just wanted Daddy and some of whatever Carole had made for breakfast because it smelled yummy.

Kurt nuzzled at his neck just a little. "Baby, can you come out and say hi?" he prompted softly.

Blaine shook his head.

"Are you shy this morning?" he asked.

Blaine shrugged, wiggling just a little more to get comfy. Daddy was safe, and all Blaine wanted right now was to feel safe.

Carole walked over, setting a large plate of waffles down on the table in front of Kurt. "I hope you're hungry!" she said cheerfully. "I made a bunch of waffles because I hear that's somebody's favorite." She gave Blaine's rib cage a quick tickle, eliciting a quiet giggle from the boy.

"Can you tell her thank you, Blaine?" Kurt prompted.

"Fank you," Blaine whispered.

Kurt gave him a quick squeeze before picking up the fork and cutting off a bite of waffle. "Who should have the first bite?" he asked. "I don't see anyone around here who really likes waffles, so I guess it will have to be me." He opened his mouth dramatically to take the first bite.

"Daddy," Blaine whined, sitting up. "I yike waffles!"

"You do?" Kurt asked, feigning shock. "I didn't think that anyone liked waffles as much as me."

In response, Blaine leaned up and stole the bite of waffle from the fork, sitting back and chewing with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Hey, you!" Kurt chuckled as he cut another bite. "You're a little thief!"

Blaine just smiled and opened his mouth for another bite.

Breakfast went on this way, Kurt alternating bites between himself and Blaine until they'd cleaned the plate. Carole brought over a sippy cup of juice and a mug of coffee, and the two boys sipped at the liquids silently, enjoying their morning so far.

"So, um, Kurt," Burt began, putting the newspaper down. He was clearly nervous about what he had to say. "I spoke with Finn this morning..."

"And? I don't want to see him," Kurt said, squeezing Blaine.

"I know. But, he wants to talk to you. He's down at the shop all day today, but he said if you swing into the shop, he'll talk with you."

"I was thinking we could make cookies today," Carole said. "So, you could leave Blaine with me while you go down there."

Blaine whimpered at that. He didn't want Daddy to leave him. He wanted Daddy to stay, not leave him with Carole. He quickly put his sippy cup down and wrapped his arms around Kurt's neck, turning so he was straddling Kurt's hips. He didn't want Daddy to decide this was a good idea and just leave him right then.

"Shhh, sweetheart. It's okay," Kurt whispered to his baby, rubbing a comforting hand up and down his back. "I don't know," he said, looking at Carole. "I don't really want to see Finn after last night, and Blaine needs me. He seems upset."

Burt nodded. "I understand if you can't go. I just hate to see this between you two boys. You're brothers."

"And Blaine is my husband!" Kurt felt like he really shouldn't have to explain this to his father. "He had no right to say any of what he said to me or to Blaine." There was clear venom in his voice, and Blaine wiggled unhappily in his lap. He didn't like when Daddy sounded that mad.

"I know. I agree," Burt said, holding up a hand. "I'm not taking Finn's side here, Kurt. I just want you to give him a chance to talk. He clearly wants to explain, at the very least."

"I don't want an explanation. All I care about is an apology. Even that might not be enough. I've put up with a lot from Finn in my life, and what I choose to do with my life is none of his business."

Carole put her arm on Kurt's shoulder comfortingly. "You're right. You have to put you and Blaine first."

Kurt gave her a small smile. "Thank you for understanding." He jostled Blaine a little bit. "Can you come out, baby?"

Blaine peeked up at him. "Don' leave, Daddy."

"I'm not going anywhere, baby. I was actually thinking we could go to the park."

Blaine perked up a bit at that. "The park?" he asked. What park could they go to where no one would recognize them and they would be mostly alone?

"Yep. I know where there's a quiet park that no one ever goes to. It has swings and a few slides. Do you want to go?"

"Park!" Blaine cheered, jumping off of Kurt's lap and grabbing his hand. "Come on, Daddy! Park! Wanna go to the park!"

"Okay. Okay," Kurt said with a chuckle, getting up. "Maybe we should ask Grandma and Grandpa if they want to go," he suggested.

Blaine wanted to say no. He wanted to go to the park with only Daddy. But he felt a little bad because he knew that Grandma and Grandpa wanted to spend time with him, too. So, he gave a little nod and asked, "You do?"

"You should ask them, baby."

Blaine reached for Kurt, wanting to be picked up, and Kurt obliged. Once he was settled in Kurt's arms, holding on securely around his neck, he looked at Carole. "Wanna come park?" he asked quietly.

"I would love to come to the park with you," Carole told him, smiling. "I have a few things we can take that you might like to play with."

That sounded fun to Blaine, so he smiled at her. "'kay," he said before turning to Burt. "You come park?" he asked.

"Sure, bud. Maybe I can push you on the swings. Kurt always liked it when I gave him an underdog.

Blaine grinned again. Maybe having Grandma and Grandpa come along wouldn't be so bad. He wiggled in Kurt's arms, wanting to be put down. "Wanna go to the park!" he repeated, pushing at Kurt's shoulders.

"Okay. Go find your sneakers, little boy," Kurt told him, putting him on the ground and giving him a smack on his bottom.

"Ouch, Daddy!" Blaine squealed, throwing a glare over his shoulder as he raced up the stairs.

"And no running," Kurt called after him.

Burt let out a little laugh as he watched Blaine run upstairs. "Well, that certainly got him going," he said, looking at his son. "You're good at that."

Kurt felt a blush creep up his neck and into his face. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"I can see why this is good for him."

Kurt really didn't know what to say to that, so he decided not to respond at all. Instead, he said, "If we don't get our shoes on quickly, we'll never hear the end of it. He'll be back down here in just a minute demanding that we go now." He turned toward the front door where he'd kicked off his shoes the day before. "Are you coming?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Right behind you, son," Burt said, putting a hand on Carole's lower back and leading her toward their bedroom. "We'll just be a minute."

True to Kurt's prediction, Blaine was ready to go a few moments later, running back down the stairs and bouncing in front of Daddy excitedly. "Let's goooooooooo!" he cried. "Wanna go park!"

"Blaine, you have to calm down," Kurt told him firmly, finishing up tying up his laces. "Come here for a minute."

With a pout, Blaine came over, sitting next to Kurt on the small bench.

"Look at your shoes, silly," Kurt said, pointing at the sneakers with floppy laces. "We can't go to the park with untied laces. You'll trip and get hurt. That wouldn't be any fun."

"Won't fall," Blaine groused. "'m big."

"It doesn't matter if you're a big boy or not. Your shoe laces have to be tied so you don't fall." He pulled each of Blaine's feet up onto his lap and tied the laces up tight. Then, he patted Blaine's knee and stood. "There. I'm going to go and check on Grandma and Grandpa."

Blaine followed along behind him, bouncing again now that he knew they were about to leave. "Graaaaa'ma," he called as they walked. "'m reaaaaaaaaaadyyyyyyy."

"We're coming," Carole said, stepping out of the bedroom, arms loaded with toys.

Blaine's eyes grew big. "Wow," he breathed, taking in the large trucks, ring toss game, and beach ball that Carole had. "For me?" he asked.

"Yes, sweet boy," Carole told him. "Grandpa has the rest."

"There's more?" Kurt asked, horrified. "You're going to spoil him rotten."

"That's why my name's Grandpa," Burt said, stepping out of the bedroom with the rest of the toys. "We get to spoil him and send him back to you." He grinned at Kurt.

"Great," Kurt mumbled, turning around and heading to the front door. "Let's go before you guys come up with more stuff that he doesn't need."

"Daddy," Blaine pouted as he followed him down the hallway and out the front door. "I need toys. They're fun."

"Don't listen to your Daddy," Carole said. "He's being a boring grown up. Do you want to carry one of these trucks?"

"Yeah!" Blaine hopped over to her, grabbing the green monster truck she offered him.

"Hold someone's hand, please," Kurt reminded. "It's not very far to the park, but I don't want you to get lost or hurt."

Blaine pouted again but moved up next to Kurt, grabbing his hand and swinging it happily as they walked.

True to Kurt's word, the park was only about a ten minute walk away, but no one would have ever found it. It was part of Lima's old city park, and while still technically on city grounds, it had been mostly forgotten. It sat inside a large grove of trees that blocked it on all sides. Any casual passerby would never know it was there. When Lima had update their park, they'd moved the new equipment to a new location, leaving the old swing set, monkey bars, merry-go-round, teeter totter, sand box, and slides alone. No one ever came to the old part of the park which made it the perfect place for Blaine to play. Thankfully, though, the city crew still mowed the area, so there was no long grass to contend with.

As soon as Kurt would let him, Blaine let go of his hand and ran toward the middle of the playground, whooping loudly. He set his truck down on the merry-go-round and looked around excitedly, trying to figure out what to do first. Finally, he decided on the swings, sprinting toward them. "Daddy!" he called. "Come push me!"

"Be right there, monkey," Kurt said, smiling at his parents. "Now you'll really get to meet little Blaine. He's usually rambunctious like this wherever we go."

Burt looked almost as excited as Blaine did. "Can't wait," he said. "Carole, let's go sit on the teeter totter," he plead. He set the toys he'd been carrying down by Blaine's truck and grabbed her wrist, tugging her forward.

"Just a minute, you," she said. "I need to put my stuff down." Once her arms were empty, she followed him happily.

Kurt shook his head as he watched them go, making his way over to Blaine who was wiggling excitedly in one of the swings.

"Push me high!" he begged as Kurt came around behind him. "High, high, high!"

"I'll do my best, baby," Kurt promised as he grabbed the chains and pulled the swing backward. He let it go, and Blaine squealed, delighted, as he flew through the air.

"More!" he chanted as he came back toward Kurt. "More! More! More!"

Kurt grinned, pushing the baby until he couldn't go any higher. "Pump your legs," Kurt told him, stepping away so he wouldn't get kicked in the face. "I can't reach you anymore. You're so high."

Blaine giggled, calling to Burt and Carole, "Lookame! 'm high!"

"You're really high, buddy," Burt called back. "Are you havin' fun?"

"Yeah!" Blaine yelled.

Just then, Kurt's phone went off, so he stepped even further away and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was a text from Finn. For a moment, he considered just deleting the text and ignoring his step-brother, but he decided to open it anyway. If he didn't like what it said, he didn't have to respond.

From: Finn

_Mom sed u arent comin to the shop_

Kurt rolled his eyes at Finn's terrible grammar. It was a wonder he'd ever passed high school spelling like that. He shot back a reply:

_That's right._

Then he shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned to watch Blaine giggle as he swung through the air. Finn apparently wasn't giving up that easily, though. A few moments later, Kurt's phone went off again.

From Finn:

_I wanna talk 2 u_

Kurt:

_Well, I don't want to speak to you._

From Finn:

_I no I wuz an ass let me xplane_

Kurt:

_I'm not coming to the garage._

From Finn:

_Then I come 2 u_

Kurt:

_I don't know if that's a good idea. I'm at the park with Dad, Carole, and Blaine._

From Finn:

_Plz Kurt_

Kurt:

_Fine. I'll talk to you, but just for a minute. Then you have to leave. You aren't talking to Blaine._

From Finn:

_K. B there in 5_

Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes, putting his phone back for the last time. He looked around the park to find Blaine, sighing with relief when he saw him going down the slide, Burt and Carole at the bottom cheering him on. He walked toward them, cheering when Blaine went down the slide. "Good job, baby!" he called as he approached.

Blaine glared at him. "You didn' pay no 'ttention to me."

Kurt pulled his boy into a hug, kissing the top of his head. "I know. I'm sorry. I just had to deal with something. I'm going to pay attention to you now."

"Kay, Daddy," Blaine said. He squeezed Kurt for a second before pulling back. "Wanna play trucks!" he announced, running over to the merry-go-round and grabbing the three over-sized trucks sitting there and dragging them to the sandbox.

"I'm coming, too," Burt called, hurrying after him.

Carole waited until they were out of earshot before asking, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Kurt said, looking down at his toes and running the tip of his shoe over a patch of grass. "I was texting with Finn. He's going to come down here for a minute because he wants to talk to me. I told him he couldn't talk to Blaine, and I'd really appreciate it if Blaine didn't even know he was here." He paused, looking up at Carole's face. "Do you think you and Dad can keep him entertained while I talk to Finn? He could be here any minute."

"Sure," Carole said, patting his shoulder gently. "I'm glad you're going to talk to him. You can tell him I said he'd better apologize."

Kurt chuckled uncomfortably, looking up to see Blaine and Burt happily pushing the trucks through the sand. Then, a hint of movement at the edge of the clearing caught his eye. It was Finn. Kurt strode toward him quickly, his long legs covering a lot of ground. He pointed back toward the sidewalk outside the clearing when Finn made eye contact with him, letting him know he should go out of the clearing.

Finn retreated, disappearing out of the clearing, and Kurt sighed with relief. He turned toward Blaine and Burt, calling, "I have to step out here for just a minute. I'll be right back, Blaine." Then, he stepped out of the clearing and onto the sidewalk, giving Finn an angry look. "Talk," he said gruffly.

Finn's back was to Kurt, and he jumped at the sound of his rough voice. Spinning, he took in his step-brother's angry form, Kurt's arms folded across his chest as he glared daggers at him. Finn held up his hands. "First, I want to say I'm sorry," he told him.

Kurt snorted. "That's the least you should be."

"I know. I acted like a, uh, well, I acted like a dumb ass, and I'm sorry."

Kurt looked at the ground. "Is that all you have to say?"

Finn took a deep breath. He wished that was all he had to say, but what he'd actually come to tell his brother was much more difficult to say than that. "No," he sighed, sounding defeated. "There's something else I wanted to tell you, actually." He scuffed the toe of one of his work boots against the sidewalk, stalling. Finally, he took a few steps toward Kurt.

"Well, what is it?" Kurt asked, a little more sharply than he'd intended. "I need to get back in there. Blaine's going to start wondering where I went."

Unfortunately for Kurt, Blaine had already wondered where he went. He and Grandpa had been building ramps for the trucks in the sandbox. They had built one particularly large ramp that made the trucks fly several feet through the air before landing, and Blaine was ecstatic! Who knew Grandpa could be that much fun? He was delighted by the ramp, and he really wanted to show Daddy, so, without warning, he took off toward the edge of the clearing, where Daddy had gone.

"Hey, Blaine, come back here!" Burt had called, looking after him in confusion.

"Blaine, stay here, sweetie," Carole had told him, chasing behind him. She was worried that he was going to leave the park, and while she knew he wouldn't get far because Kurt was right out there, Kurt would be very upset because he hadn't wanted Blaine to know Finn was there.

Blaine ignored his grandparents, racing toward the edge of the park. He could see Daddy standing on the sidewalk, and was a little bit confused. Daddy wasn't on the phone? Why had he left the park? Then, Finn stepped into his line of sight, and Blaine whirled around. Daddy was talking to Finn? Without him? Daddy was probably talking with Finn _about_ him! They were probably talking about how to get him to leave Daddy alone, because even though Daddy said that Finn was wrong, he'd been right about one thing. Blaine was a baby. He was a baby because it made him happy, but it meant a lot of extra work for Daddy. And even though Daddy said that he loved him and wanted him to be as little as he wanted whenever he wanted, Blaine knew that that probably wasn't true. Before Grandma could get to him, he took off back to the sandbox and grabbed a truck again, zooming it off of the really tall ramp. He wasn't going to let Daddy know that he saw them. Maybe if he didn't tell Daddy, Daddy would decide to keep him.

* * *

A/N: So, since the story is done, I will post a new chapter every day until I get it all up here! Look for an update tomorrow!


	5. Secrets

Finn scuffed the toe of his boot again. "Kurt, I—I think I might be..." He didn't think he could say it. It was too hard, and he had no idea how Kurt was going to react to him. He opened his mouth to try again, but no sound came out.

Kurt looked at him, frustrated. "Finn, I need to go." He turned on his heel, headed back into the clearing. He needed to check on Blaine.

"Kurt, wait!" Finn called after him. He reached out, grabbing Kurt's arm.

Kurt flipped around.

"Spit it out now, or I'm going back in there. And you're going back to the garage."

"I'm jealous," Finn told him, voice barely above a whisper.

Kurt looked at him and blinked, trying to process what he'd said. "You're jealous?" he asked, confused. "Jealous of what?"

"Of you," he explained with a sigh, dropping his hand from Kurt's arm and studying the ground. "I'm jealous of what you have with Blaine. I want someone to look at me the way Blaine looks at you when he's little. He thinks you can do anything. And he's clearly in love with you."

Kurt shook his head. "So, you want someone to love you?" he asked. "You want a relationship?"

"I want...I want a little."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Finn. You really hurt Blaine last night. You don't know how to talk to them, and-"

Finn was grief-stricken. He'd hurt Blaine. He knew that he'd hurt Blaine. "Look," he said softly. "I want to apologize to Blaine, too, if you'll let me. I know I hurt him. All I wanted to do at first was tease him a little. But then, when I saw that look in his eyes, how much he cared about you and trusted you, I got so jealous. I just wanted it to stop. I didn't want to have to see that any more. Things got really out of hand, Kurt, and I'm sorry."

Kurt looked at his brother like he'd grown two heads. "You can't be that way around a little, Finn. Things are hard and confusing for them already. Trying to 'teasingly' call them a baby and make fun of them doesn't work."

"I know." Finn sighed sighed again. "I know that. Now. And I want to do better, maybe try to find a little."

With a shake of his head, Kurt turned to go again. "Good luck with that," he said. "I have to go."

"Do you think you can help me?" Finn called after him.

Kurt stopped and huffed. Turning around, he said, "I'll try."

Finn's face lit up as though he'd just been given the best news in the world. "Really? Do you mean that?"

"I'll do my best, Finn. I'm not sure if it's a good choice for you, but I'll try."

Finn ran to him and pulled him into a tight hug before stepping back and walking to his truck. "Thank you," he said over his shoulder, voice full of emotion. "Thank you."

Kurt didn't say anything else, just gave him a little wave before heading back into the clearing. He was happy to see that Blaine, Burt, and Carole were still in the sandbox, playing with the large trucks. "I'm back, Blaine," he greeted as he headed toward them.

Blaine jumped out of the sandbox and ran to Kurt, launching himself into his arms and burying his face in his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around Daddy and held on, not letting go.

"Well, hi, baby," Kurt said, surprised, hugging back. "What's this about?"

"Miss you," Blaine mumbled, not moving.

"Missed you, too," Kurt said as he rubbed his back. He looked between his dad and Carole, eyebrow raised in question. Both of them shook their heads, not knowing what could have caused the change in behavior either.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kurt asked, settling them into a seated position on the merry-go-round. He could feel the boy nod into his shoulder.

"Wiw swide wif me?" Blaine whispered. That sounded fun, and maybe it would make him happy while he tried to forget that Daddy was planning to get rid of him.

"Of course I will," Kurt said, struggling to his feet again and making his way to the top of the slide.

They didn't stay at the park much longer. Blaine was clingy, hanging onto Kurt at every turn and refusing to let go, even to play with Kurt. If he wasn't wrapped around his neck, he was seated in his lap.

Kurt was confused by the behavior. He had been just fine when he stepped out to talk with Finn. Eventually, he decided to chalk it up to being tired. So, they rounded up the toys and walked home. Kurt fed Blaine a quick lunch of peanut butter and jelly before whisking him away upstairs. "I think someone needs a nap," he whispered into the baby's neck, jostling him just a bit.

"Daddy sweep wif me?" Blaine asked. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

"I'll lay down with you, baby. Promise."

"Kay." When they got to Kurt's bedroom, Blaine docilely allowed his pants to be taken off before he crawled under the covers, whining until Kurt crawled into bed next to them. 

"What's got my baby boy upset, huh?" Kurt asked, pulling the boy to him.

Blaine shook his head, closing his eyes as he rested against Kurt's chest. "Sweepy," he mumbled, grabbing a fist full of Daddy's shirt.

"Sleep then, baby," Kurt cooed, petting his hair gently. "I'll be here when you wake up."

* * *

"Ni'," Blaine said, already half asleep. It was nice to lay here on Daddy's chest. He tried not to think about how much longer he would have to do that before Daddy sent him away. It was too upsetting, and he already felt like he might cry. So, he tried to focus on happy memories of him and Daddy doing fun things together. He needed to remember them all really good so he could think about them later after Daddy didn't want him anymore.


	6. Clingy Boys and Time Outs

When Blaine woke from his nap, he was a clingy little monkey. Not even the promise of baking cookies with Carole got him in a good mood. He wanted to bake, but the second Kurt tried to put him down to help Carole do something, Blaine would wind up in tears, sobbing until he was safely back in Daddy's arms. Kurt felt so confused by this turn of events. He couldn't figure out what was going on with Blaine, and he didn't seem to want to tell him. Each time he asked him if he was okay, Blaine would mumble something about missing him or just wanting a hug. There was nothing he could do about it; he didn't want to push his boy, he decided. He'd tried that before, and it only made things so much worse. So, he did his best to keep Blaine happy and put him to bed early that night, hoping that a good night's rest would make him feel better in the morning. Unfortunately, that wasn't so. Blaine was even sulkier when he woke the next morning.

Blaine really wasn't trying to be naughty. He just wanted Daddy to love him, and each time he tried to put him down, Blaine was afraid that it was the last time he was going to see Daddy. He might just leave him there and go back to New York without him. Burt and Carole wouldn't want to take care of him if Kurt didn't love him anymore, so they'd kick him out, and he'd be all on his own. Blaine couldn't have that. So, he decided he just wouldn't let Daddy get away from him. Which wasn't naughty. It was loving, actually. If he showed Daddy that he loved him, maybe Daddy wouldn't think Finn was right about him just being a baby and would keep him instead. People who said they loved him had left him for a lot less than this.

"I want to take him to a movie," Burt announced after lunch. Kurt was sitting across the table from him with Blaine on his lap. Blaine was sucking on a sippy cup of milk and looking incredibly tired, his eye lids drooping with each slurp. "Would you like that, bud?" he asked, leaning toward the boy.

Blaine wiggled. "Movie," he lisped around the cup.

"Well, someone needs a nap first," Kurt said. "Maybe after your nap we can go to a movie, if you're a good boy."

Blaine pouted a little at that but asked, "Daddy come?"

"To take a nap with you? Or to the movie?"

"Nap," Blaine said, setting the cup down.

"I'll lay down with you for a minute," Kurt told him, "but I think you can be a big boy and sleep on your own today."

"Nooooooo," Blaine cried, flipping himself around to hold onto Kurt's neck tightly. "No big! No big!"

"You're not my big boy?" Kurt asked, confused. Blaine always insisted that he was big, even when he was clearly feeling smaller than usual.

"No," Blaine said, shaking his head in the crook of Kurt's neck. "No big."

Kurt rubbed his back and looked apologetically at his dad before standing up and carting Blaine up the stairs. He pulled Blaine's pants off and settled them underneath the covers. But he wasn't ready to let Blaine fall asleep yet. "Blaine," he asked gently, brushing the hair away from his forehead. "Please talk to me, baby. I can tell something is bothering you, but I can't help unless you tell me."

Blaine whined a little. He was sleepy, and he didn't want to talk.

"Please, Blaine. It makes me so sad to see you upset. I want to help you feel better."

Blaine sat upright at that, a look of horror on his face. "Daddy sad?" he asked, patting Kurt's cheek.

"I'm sad that you're sad," Kurt replied, rubbing a thumb gently across Blaine's cheek before pulling him back down to lay his head against his chest. "Please tell me what's bothering you." 

Blaine almost did. Daddy was warm and comforting, and he definitely didn't want Daddy to be sad. But, he was sleepy, and if he told Daddy what was bothering him, Daddy would definitely leave him while he was napping because he wouldn't want to deal with a whiny, crying baby anymore. So, instead, despite feeling very guilty for lying, he said, "'m okay, Daddy. Jus' sweepy."

Kurt knew that wasn't true. He knew Blaine was lying, and he wanted so badly to force him to be big and tell him that they couldn't go on like this, that he had to tell him what was going on because it was killing him to watch his baby be so sad. But, Kurt couldn't do that. He felt like way too much of a failure on this trip to be able to tell Blaine that he needed to do better. _Daddy_ needed to do better. He was failing, too, he reminded himself. He hadn't been able to protect Blaine like he'd promised he would. Maybe this clingy, sad state Blaine was in was because of _him_. That thought made him want to cry, so he didn't push Blaine further. Instead, he gently rubbed his back and hushed him. "Go to sleep, baby. When you wake up, we'll go to a movie with Grandpa and Grandma."

Kurt didn't nap with Blaine like he had the day before. Instead, he stayed awake, going over and over in his mind anything that could have happened to make Blaine feel like this. The more he thought, the more he became convinced that this was his fault. Blaine wasn't feeling safe. What had Blaine told him over and over their first day here? _"Daddy's safe."_ That had to be it. He wasn't feeling safe without Kurt, and when he'd left the park for just a minute, Blaine had felt insecure. This was his response to not feeling safe. Figuring this out made him feel a tiny bit better. He just had to show Blaine that Burt and Carole were safe, too.

Blaine's nap was short lived, and when he woke up, he was full of energy. "Go movie now?" he asked, bouncing around Kurt's old bedroom as he watched Daddy get ready to go.

"Yeah. We're going to go to a movie. Let me finish getting ready, and then we'll see if Grandma and Grandpa are ready to go."

"Wha' movie?" Blaine asked, following Kurt into the bathroom as he ran a comb through his hair.

"I think Grandpa said something about _Toy Story_?"

Blaine's eyes lit up. He had been _dying_ to see the new _Toy Story_ movie since he'd heard it was coming out. This was going to be so good, and he was that much more excited to go now. "Yay!" he yelled, bouncing around the bathroom. "_Toy Story_!"

"Blaine, don't yell, please," Kurt scolded. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go check on Grandma and Grandpa then." Kurt followed the bouncing boy out of the bathroom, expecting him to hop down the stairs on his own. But, when they got to the top step, Blaine turned and put his arms out to be picked up. "Can't you walk?" Daddy asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Blaine shook his head. "Nuh uh. Daddy carry."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "You don't get to tell me what to do, little boy."

A blush filled the boy's cheeks as he said, "Daddy carry, please."

"Much better," Kurt said, scooping him up and carrying him down the stairs. He found Burt sitting in the living room with his shoes on, looking like he was ready to go.

"You ready to go, bud?" Burt asked as they came in, his question directed at Blaine.

Blaine didn't respond, turning his face into Kurt's neck shyly.

Kurt nudged him. "Blaine. It's nice to respond to people when they ask you a question." When Blaine still didn't say anything, Kurt patted his bottom in a warning. "Blaine," he said again.

"Ready," Blaine whispered, peeking out at Burt. "_Toy Story_?"

"Yeah! I thought you might like that one," Burt said. He felt a little bit bad for Blaine. He seemed to be having a rough week.

Blaine grinned at him. "I yike _Toy Story_," he said, pulling his head out to look at Burt better. "Yike Woody."

"Woody's my favorite character, too," Burt told him with a big smile on his face. "Maybe after the movie, we can find you a Woody toy."

An even bigger smile grew on Blaine's face. "Okay," he said, obviously delighted.

"Is Carole getting ready?" Kurt asked as he sat down next to Burt.

"Yeah. She's just putting on makeup, I think," Burt said, settling back. "Shouldn't be too much longer."

"And what time is the movie?"

"We have almost an hour. We won't be late, don't worry."

Blaine was happy to hear this, settling down on Daddy's lap to wait for Grandma to be ready. He loved Toy Story. It had always been one of his favorite movies, even when he was little the first time. He'd always wondered what his toys did when he wasn't with them. It was funny to think that Jack Rabbit came alive at night and had adventures with his other stuffies. That reminded him. Jack Rabbit needed to see this movie, too. He patted at Daddy's cheek to get his attention. He and Grandpa were talking about something boring. This was way more important. "Daddy," he whispered until he finally had his attention. "Need Jack."

"You want to bring Jack Rabbit to the movie?" Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded. "Uh huh."

Kurt usually didn't let Blaine bring his stuffed animals out in public, especially Jack because he was afraid that Blaine would lose them, and he didn't want to imagine the meltdown that would happen if his toy got left in a movie theater. But, they did have two extra sets of eyes and hands along this time. And Carole could probably stick him in her purse if Blaine decided he didn't want to hold the bunny anymore. So, he said, "Okay. I'll let you bring Jack this time. Is he upstairs?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay, baby. Why don't you run up and grab him? When you come back, I bet it will be time to go."

"Noooo," Blaine whined. "Daddy come."

"Blaine, you can get Jack without me. He's just upstairs in our room. You can come right back and sit on my lap again." Kurt wanted him to feel safe, but there was no reason that going upstairs for a second alone would be scary.

"Noooo," Blaine tried again, sliding off of his lap and tugging at his arm. "Daddy come!"

"No. You can do it."

Blaine stomped his foot. "No!" he shouted.

"Excuse me?" Kurt said, unimpressed with Blaine's behavior. "Do we yell or stomp our feet?"

Another stomp.

"Blaine Devon Anderson," Kurt said, his voice stern. "You need to go to time out, please." He pointed to a corner across the room where there was no furniture.

"Daddy, nooooo," Blaine whined. Time out was no fun, and he didn't want to go to time out. He wanted his bunny and to go watch Toy Story.

"You don't tell me no, young man," Kurt said, standing up. He grabbed his arm tightly and marched him over to the corner. "Sit," he said, pointing.

"Daddy-" Blaine started but didn't get far as Daddy gave him a stingy smack to his bottom. "Ow," he cried, wiggling.

"Sit," Kurt repeated, pointing to the floor in front of the corner.

Blaine sat, a pout firmly on his face.

Kurt crouched next to him, tilting his chin so he could look into the boy's eyes. "You have ten minutes," he said. "I want you to sit here and think about why we don't stomp or yell. You need to stay quiet, facing the corner, sitting on your bottom. Do you understand?"

Blaine's eyes teared up as Daddy lectured, nodding his head fervently. "Yes, sir," he mumbled.

"Good boy," Kurt said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before getting up and walking back to his father who was still sitting on the couch, trying not to watch the scene unfolding in front of him. "I'm sorry," Kurt said quietly so Blaine wouldn't hear. "I don't know what's got him so worked up. He normally doesn't act like this."

"There's a lot going on this week, Kurt," Burt replied, shrugging. "His first day here wasn't very good. Between me and your brother, you should cut the kid some slack."

"I have been," Kurt told him, watching Blaine from the corner of his eye. "He's gotten away with a lot. I don't normally let him be so clingy and whiny. He knows that we don't stomp or yell in the house, though."

Burt nodded, not saying anything.

There was a pause, then, "Did something happen?" Kurt asked suddenly, not able to keep silent about this anymore. It had been bothering him. "Yesterday at the park? When I left to talk to Finn?"

"I don't think so," Burt said, frowning. "He left the sandbox for a minute and ran toward where you'd gone, but he didn't even make it to the trees before he turned around and came back. He didn't say anything before he left or when he came back, so I have no idea what he was doing. I don't think he saw you and Finn or anything, though."

Kurt nodded. "Thanks. I know something is bothering him. I just don't know what." He looked sidelong at the little boy in the corner. It broke his heart to think that maybe he was keeping secrets from him, secrets that were upsetting him.

There was a long pause, neither man really sure what to say to the other. "Just listen to him," Burt said finally, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He'll tell you what's going on when he's ready. Just give him time."

Kurt nodded again.

"Did someone get into trouble?" Carole whispered, emerging from the hallway with her purse.

"His time is nearly up," Kurt replied quietly, checking his phone. "You guys can go get in the car. I'll be along with him in just a minute."

Burt and Carole nodded, silently getting up and heading out the door.

Blaine was feeling pretty sorry for himself. It was 'barrassing to get into trouble in front of Grandma and Grandpa, and it proved to Daddy that he was just a bad baby. He sniffled as he sat in time out, waiting to be let out. And then, he heard the door close. He jumped. Daddy was leaving him, just like his parents had! He let out a strangled sob as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. He hugged his knees tightly and cried into them. Daddy was leaving him, and there was nothing he could do about it because he was already gone. There was no reason to chase after him. He could never catch him now anyway. He sobbed again, a little louder.

Kurt was on his knees next to Blaine instantly, pulling him into a tight hug. "Blaine, baby, calm down. Take deep breaths for me. Big deep breaths. That's it. Good boy," he murmured as Blaine grabbed tightly around him, taking in a few raggedy breaths.

"Fin-Finked y-you lea-leaved," he sputtered into Daddy's chest.

"Hold on," Kurt told him, rubbing his back. "I can't understand you yet, baby. Calm down and then we'll talk."

Blaine did his best to calm down, leaning into Daddy's warm embrace and taking long, deep breaths until he wasn't crying anymore. Daddy hadn't left him. He was okay. He was okay.

Kurt wiped some stray tears away with his thumb, rocking his boy just a bit. Then, he bent and gave him a kiss to the top of his head. "Can you tell me why you got so upset?" he asked quietly.

"Finked you leaved," Blaine whispered, sniffling loudly.

"I wouldn't go to the movie without you," Kurt told him, confused. "I just told Grandma and Grandpa to go to the car and wait for us so I could get you out of time out, and we could get Jack."

Blaine relaxed a little. Daddy didn't sound like he had intended to leave Blaine while he was in time out, but it could just be a trick. Sometimes grownups were tricky. And Blaine wasn't taking any chances. So, he squeezed his daddy tighter. "Daddy come to Toy Story?" he asked, just to make sure.

"Yes, baby," Kurt said, rubbing his back. "I'm coming to Toy Story with you."

"Daddy come get Jack?"

"Yes. We'll go get Jack together." He pulled back as far as he could in Blaine's strong grip. "Do you feel better now?" he asked, looking him in the eye.

Blaine nodded.

"You know I would never leave you, right?" Kurt said, pulling him into a tight squeeze before struggling to his feet with the monkey still wrapped around him. "It would make me so sad to ever leave my precious little boy behind."

Blaine nodded, even though he wasn't sure. His parents had said they loved him, but then they'd left him all alone. He wanted to believe Daddy, but he had seen him talking to Finn. Finn thought he should leave Daddy alone. If Daddy was talking to Finn, then Daddy probably thought that, too. He knew Daddy could be tricky when he wanted to be, like when he said Blaine could have extra cookies if he eated all his veggies, but then he made the ickiest veggies in the world for dinner. He wouldn't tell Daddy that, though. He wanted to make what little time they had left count, not give Daddy another reason to leave him sooner.

"Good boy," Kurt praised. "I love you," He gave Blaine's head another kiss.

"Yove you, too," Blaine said. He settled his arms around Daddy's neck, sighing with relief at being wrapped up in another one of Daddy's hugs.

* * *

"Let's go get Jack Rabbit," Kurt said, turning toward the stairs. "We don't want to keep Grandma and Grandpa waiting on us too much longer. They might go see Toy Story without us!" He tickled Blaine's tummy a little as they climbed, smiling when the boy giggled. He wanted to hear more of that sound. Blaine had been entirely too sad the past few days.


	7. Tantrums and Spankings

_Toy Story_ was awesome! Blaine was feeling decidedly better when they walked out of the theater that evening. He held Daddy's hand tightly, still not wanting to let him get away, but he bounced excitedly on his toes, thinking about all the awesome things he had seen in the movie. He kinda wanted to make a Forky, now, and he thought about asking Grandma if she had the things they needed to make one.

"Did you like the movie?" Kurt asked, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah!" Blaine cheered, hopping up and down.

"Well, I have a surprise for you," Kurt told him, delighted that the baby seemed to be in a much better mood than when they'd gone into the theater. "What if I told you that we are going to a carnival?" Kurt had been shocked when, during the movie, Blaine had leaned over and informed him he'd never been on a Ferris Wheel or any other carnival ride. So, a quick Google search had revealed that Findlay, a small town nearby, was having their local fair, and their carnival would begin operating the next evening.

Blaine's eyes grew wide. "Wide giant wheew?" he asked.

"Of course, baby," Kurt told him. "We can ride the Ferris Wheel and the carousel and anything else you want to do," he promised.

"Maybe your daddy or I can win you a new friend for your bunny," Burt told him as they climbed back into the car. "Maybe that's where we can find you a Woody."

Blaine smiled a bit at that. He would love a new friend. Daddy said he had too many, but maybe he could convince Grandpa that one more wouldn't hurt. "We go now?" he asked as Daddy buckled his seat belt for him. He reached eagerly for Jack when Carole handed the bunny to him.

"Tomorrow," Kurt said, giving his knee a pat before doing up his own seat belt. "We'll go tomorrow."

* * *

"Kay," Blaine said, leaning into Kurt's shoulder with a yawn as they started back to Burt and Carole's. He squeezed his bunny tightly to his chest. He was sorta glad they wouldn't be going tonight. He was sleepy again. He let his eyes drift closed, comfy against Daddy's strong shoulder. He was out before they ever made it back to the house.

Blaine was feeling a little bit better when he woke up the next morning. He wasn't quite as clingy with Kurt as he had been the day before, but he still didn't allow him out of his sight or more than a few steps away. He was delighted when, after breakfast, he was able to sit down and make his own little family of Forkies out of some of Grandma's plastic forks and spoons. He was happy to sit on Kurt's lap, wrapping fuzzy sticks around the utensils to make arms and legs and gluing on googly eyes. The craft project took up most of the morning, and Blaine was excited that Daddy said he didn't have to take a nap.

That may have been the wrong decision, however, because after lunch, Blaine's behavior started to go down hill. Fast. First, he threw a fit because Daddy wouldn't let him play with the giant trucks in the living room.

"They're full of sand, baby," Kurt said to the grumpy boy on his lap. "We can play with them outside if you want to, but you had them in the sand box. They aren't inside toys."

Then, he refused to put away his coloring book when he wanted to get out some play dough. "'m not done," he whined, throwing himself onto the floor in exasperation.

"We're not having two crafts out at once," Kurt explained from his seat on the floor next to the boy. "You can put a crayon in your book so you don't lose your page, but all the rest of your crayons need to go back into their box if you want to get the play dough out."

"No!" Blaine snapped, kicking his foot against the floor. "Not. Done. Colorin'." He accentuated each word with a stomp.

"Then no play dough," Kurt said, getting up from the floor and going to sit on the couch. He wasn't going to baby Blaine through this. He knew he needed to clean up one craft before he started another.

Blaine jumped up from the floor when he saw Kurt getting up, afraid that he'd finally pushed Daddy too far. He threw himself at the man, nearly knocking Kurt over before he could get settled onto the couch. "No yeavin'," he wailed, holding tight to Kurt's waist. "No yeavin' me!"

"I'm not leaving you. I'm just sitting on the couch," Kurt explained. "Are you going to pick up your coloring stuff so you can play with play dough?"

"No," Blaine repeated, still grumpy about that. He didn't want to clean up. Cleaning up was boring and not fun.

"Then I think someone needs a nap," Kurt replied, standing again and grabbing Blaine's arms to pull him up as well. "We don't need any crabby boys, and crabby boys can't go to the carnival."

That's when Blaine threw his biggest tantrum of the trip.

"No! No! No!" he shouted, refusing to stand up even as Kurt tugged at him. He slumped further toward the floor and pounded his fists loudly. "No nap! Don' need a nap! Not a crab!"

Kurt couldn't stop himself from laughing at that. "You clearly do. Now, stand up. We need to go upstairs and get you into bed. If you're good, I'll read you a story before you take your nap."

Blaine didn't hear him. He was too busy pounding and yelling to listen to Daddy. Truth be told, he was sleepy. He'd been more tired recently. It was hard work keeping a big secret from Daddy and being alert all the time, making sure Daddy wasn't leaving him. He wanted to sleep, but going to sleep was scary because Daddy could leave him while he was sleeping. And Blaine wouldn't even know until he woke up. All of that was too confusing for his little brain, so he took his frustration out on the floor, yelling and pounding on it heavily. However, in his anger, he wasn't aware how close he was getting to Daddy's toes until he smashed them with one of his fists.

It took all Kurt had not to yell. Blaine was very strong, and he'd just slammed his fist into his foot. He really wanted to sit down and pull Blaine over his lap right then and there, but he knew he couldn't punish him in anger. He'd never done that before, and he wouldn't start now. Instead, he sat down, pulling his foot up onto the couch cushion for a quick check before he leaned down, putting his mouth near Blaine's ear. "Blaine Devon, I need you to listen to me," he said, his voice low and rough, clearly serious. "You need to stand up right now and march yourself up to our room. We need to have a talk."

After pounding on Daddy's foot, Blaine had gone very still and quiet as he realized what he'd done. He had no problems hearing Daddy's clear threat, and he scrambled to his feet, hurrying to do what he was told. He was going to be in big, big trouble.

Kurt followed the little boy up the stairs, taking large, deep breaths as they went. He needed to be calm. Blaine responded best when he was calm. When they got to the bedroom, Kurt took Blaine's arm firmly and led him over to a corner. "You're going to time out," Kurt told him. "No talking, and don't turn around until I tell you you can come out." He landed a stingy swat to Blaine's bottom.

"Daddy, I'm-" Blaine started but received another swat before he could finish.

"We'll talk after time out. Right now, I want you to take some time to think."

Kurt turned and walked to the edge of the bed, sitting down to watch Blaine's back.

But Blaine didn't stay facing the corner. He was so worried about Daddy leaving him that he turned, panic on his face. "Don' yeave," he begged, voice already a bit watery.

If Kurt had been less angry, he would have seen the concern clearly written on Blaine's face, the fear hidden behind his tears. Instead, all he saw was a disobedient little boy who was feeling sorry for himself. "Blaine Devon Anderson!" he thundered, rising from the bed and stalking back over. He quickly pulled down the sweat pants that Blaine was wearing and smacked his underwear clad bottom three times before pulling them back up. "You're in enough trouble as it is, little boy," he said. "You don't need to make it worse." He re-positioned Blaine with his nose in the corner, then Kurt stalked away again.

Blaine wanted to turn around. He wanted to run back to Daddy, tell him he was really, really sorry for hitting his foot, and beg him not to leave. But, he was sure it wouldn't do any good. Daddy was going to leave him because he didn't want a baby anymore, especially not a baby who whined and hit and never grew up. He could hear the springs on the bed make noise as they sunk under Kurt's weight, so he knew Kurt hadn't left him yet. But it was only a matter of time. He hunched forward in the corner. Maybe if he was good in time out, Daddy would let him out before he left. Then, at least, he wouldn't be stuck in time out forever.

Kurt watched Blaine's back as the boy stood in time out. Normally, Kurt would have him sit, but he had been so upset by everything that was going on, he'd forgotten to tell him he could. He'd fix it in a minute. First, he needed to calm down, and he was struggling with that. He wasn't really mad at Blaine. He knew that Blaine had temper tantrums when he was tired or overwhelmed, and this was certainly not the first time he'd hit Daddy as a result of one of the tantrums. Kurt was mad at Finn. His stupid step-brother was the reason that this was happening. He'd thrown Blaine for a loop, made him feel unsafe, and then taken up Kurt's precious time just to tell him he'd done it out of jealousy. All of Blaine's misbehavior that week could be chalked up to one thing: he didn't feel safe here. Screw helping Finn find a little. He didn't care what he'd promised the oaf. He wasn't helping any more.

Taking a deep breath, Kurt glanced at the alarm clock next to the bed. He'd put Blaine in time out nearly ten minutes ago. He needed to let him out soon, but first, he needed a drink. Deciding he could trust the boy in time out for just a few minutes, Kurt rose from the bed and padded out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him as he went down the hallway to the bathroom for some water.

At the sound of the door clicking, Blaine panicked. He whirled around. Kurt was gone. His daddy was gone. He'd left him, just like Blaine knew he was going to. With a loud, anguished sob, Blaine fell to his knees, facing the corner, and covered his face with his hands as huge tears spilled down his cheeks and into the carpet. Daddy was gone. He was gone, and he was never coming back. Blaine felt like a huge hole was growing in his chest, sucking all of his air out of his body, strangling him as it consumed him whole. He wished he'd told Kurt he was sorry, offered to quit being a stupid baby. Maybe they could have gone back to the way things were before. Maybe—but all these thoughts were too big and confusing, and he just wanted Daddy to hold him and tell him everything was okay. But Daddy wasn't coming back, and all Blaine could do was cry.

Kurt never got his drink. He was just opening the cabinet for a cup when he heard Blaine's wail. Without even closing the cabinet, he ran back down the hallway, throwing the door open to see his little boy kneeling on the ground, bent over, weeping into his hands, bawling as if someone had just died. In a second, Kurt was on the floor next to Blaine, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him tightly against his chest. "Blaine. Blaine," he said, repeating the boy's name over and over. "It's okay. I'm here. I'll fix it. It's okay." He felt like he could never stop talking, never stop reassuring him as he rocked and rocked and rocked.

It took Blaine a little while to realize that he wasn't alone any more. Someone was holding him, whispering to him, saying his name again and again. As the fog of crying slowly lifted, he could tell that the voice was Daddy's. The hole that had been growing began to close up ever so slowly, and he could breath again. He took huge, shaky breaths, gasping in and out for air as he clung to Daddy.

"Shhh. Shhh," Kurt murmured over and over. "I've got you. You're okay. Shhh."

It took a while, but Blaine was finally, almost, back to normal. His face was sticky, red and puffy, his mouth dry, and his head was pounding. But Daddy was there. He hadn't left. And all Blaine wanted was to be in his arms. Something in the back of his mind told him to apologize, but he didn't feel like talking. He just wanted a hug.

When he thought he was able, Kurt stood, never letting go of Blaine and lifted him gently onto his hip. He bounced him a little as they made their way down the hall to the bathroom. Wordlessly, Kurt got them both cups of water, refilling Blaine's a few times before grabbing a washcloth to wipe his face. When he was satisfied, he returned them to the bedroom, shutting the door behind them and sitting down on the bed, Blaine in his lap. He handed him Jack and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, rubbing his back in long, gentle strokes. Finally, after a few moments, he asked softly, "Can you tell me what that was about?"

Blaine didn't answer at first, distracting himself with his bunny. Finally, he said, "'m sorry."

"I know you're sorry for hitting my foot," Kurt said gently. "And we will talk about that later. I really need to know what had you so upset, baby."

"You leaved," Blaine whispered. His mouth was still a bit dry from all the crying and his tongue felt thick.

"I was going to get a drink," Kurt explained. "Where did you think I was going?"

"Away."

"Without you? You thought I was leaving you?"

Blaine nodded.

Kurt couldn't understand what was happening. "Baby, why? Why would you think that?"

Blaine didn't want to talk about this. He just wanted to cuddle with Daddy and forget it ever happened. He leaned back against Daddy's shoulder, pressing his head into the curve of his neck and fiddling with one of Jack's ears.

"I know you don't want to talk about it," Kurt whispered, putting his hand over Blaine's to still it, "but we have to."

Blaine shook his head again.

"The only way out is to safeword. So, if you really don't want to tell me, I need you to say your safeword right now. Otherwise, we're talking about it." Kurt didn't like to bring up their safeword, but he couldn't let this go. Something big had happened to make Blaine think he would leave him, and it would be unhealthy not to talk about it. He couldn't reason like that with little Blaine, but with big Blaine, he could.

"Water?" Blaine rasped.

"We can get more water. But then you have to talk to me or safeword. Agreed?"

Blaine nodded and allowed Kurt to carry him back down the hallway to the bathroom again. He drank several more cups of water, then snuggled into Daddy as he was carried back to the bedroom.

"I need you to tell me now, sweetheart," Kurt said gently, running a hand up and down Blaine's arm once they were settled back onto the bed. "Why do you think I would leave you?"

"Saw you talkin' to Finn," Blaine mumbled.

"At the park?"

Blaine nodded. "You was talkin' to him about how 'm a bad baby an'...an' how you d-don' wa-wan' me n-no more." He could barely get out the last part of his sentence, choking back sobs again.

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt said, pulling the boy even closer, rocking them back and forth. He was silent for a moment, thinking about how clingy and withdrawn Blaine had been since that day at the park. This explained a lot. "That's a big secret you've been carrying around," he crooned. "Why didn't you tell Daddy you saw us talking?"

Blaine shrugged. "If you knew, you'd jus' yeave faster..."

Kurt continued rocking, but his voice took on a commanding tone as he spoke again. "I am not leaving you," he said. "Not now. Not ever. No one is ever going to convince me that I should leave you. Not Finn, not, my parents or your parents. No one. Do you understand that?" He paused, waiting for Blaine to let him know he was listening. When he spoke again, Blaine could hear the raw emotion in his voice. "I love you," he said, squeezing Blaine so tight he thought he'd burst. "I love you so much. I married you. We have an apartment together, a life. You're my baby." He paused again, this time pushing Blaine away from him just enough to be able to look into his eyes. "You're my baby because of something we agreed to, because of something I showed you that I thought would help you feel better. I'm not just going to stop doing this with you without talking to you. I need this just as much as you do." Kurt allowed Blaine to snuggle back under his chin then, and he resumed his rocking. "You're my little boy, and I love taking care of you. Nothing is going to change that."

"But Finn thinks-"

"Screw what Finn thinks," Kurt blurted, unwilling to let Blaine finish that thought. "Does it matter what Finn thinks?"

Blaine shook his head.

"That's right. It only matters what we think, what I think. And I think you're perfect, big or little. I love you no matter what you do or how old you feel."

Blaine wanted to point out that his parents had told him that they loved him, and said he was their perfect little miracle baby, but they'd still left him alone for weeks and weeks. It still hurt him to think about his past, his family. He squeezed his eyes shut as he thought, wishing he didn't remember how it felt when they did come back; they didn't hug him or kiss him or tell him he was a good boy. They tolerated his existence until they found out what he was. Then, one day, they just didn't come back, and Blaine was alone. So very, very alone. He shuddered, snuggling in closer to Daddy. Daddy was safe. Daddy wasn't leaving. He promised. And so far, Daddy had been much better to him than his actual father.

There was a long pause as Kurt continued to rock the two of them back and forth. He felt Blaine tensing in his arms, so he pulled him closer, squeezing him until he relaxed again. He hated that Blaine had felt that way, and he kicked himself for not just talking to Blaine about his conversation with Finn right away. Eventually, he said, "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry that you've had a really rough week. I'm sorry that I caused it. I should have told you about my conversation with Finn before it even happened. I didn't want seeing him to upset you, but not talking to you made it worse." He squeezed his boy tightly again. "I'm sorry," he whispered into his hair.

Blaine wrapped his arms around Daddy, letting Jack Rabbit sit loosely in his lap. "I fo'give you, Daddy," he said, squeezing him back. "'n 'm sowwy for not tellin' you how I was feeyin'." He sighed. "'m a bad baby."

"No." Kurt pushed him away again, catching his chin with his fingers and making eye contact with him. "No. You're not bad. Sometimes you don't make good choices, but you aren't bad. I made a bad choice in not telling you about Finn. Does that make me a bad daddy?"

"Nuh uh," Blaine said, trying to shake his head. "You da best daddy!"

"Then making bad choices doesn't make you a bad baby." He let go of Blaine's chin and allowed him to snuggle into his chest again. "Do you want to know what Finn told me when we talked?" he asked after a few beats.

Blaine nodded wordlessly, his thumb finding its way to his mouth as he rubbed one of Jack's ears against his nose.

"Finn told me that he wants a little." Kurt let that sentence hang in the air for a moment before he went on. "He told me that he was sorry that he said all of those mean things to you and that he was jealous because he wants a little." Kurt paused, tugging Blaine higher onto his lap. The calmer Blaine became, the further he slipped. "Finn asked me if I would help him find a little," Kurt finished quietly. "I told him I would, but I don't think I want to any more."

Blaine was silent for a few moments, thinking about what Daddy had said. Then, he slipped his thumb from his mouth long enough to say, "Sam."

Kurt looked down at the top of Blaine's head, confused. "Sam? What does Sam have to do with this?"

"Sam's yittle," Blaine explained.

"Sam's little?" Kurt repeated. "How do you know that?"

"He tol' me," Blaine replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He tol' me he wants to be yittle. So he can be yittle wif Unca Finn."

"Do you think that's a good idea? Uncle Finn wasn't very nice to you. What if he wasn't very nice to Sam?" Kurt didn't add that he wasn't sure if Finn would want to be with a boy. Last he knew, Finn was on the fence about what kind of relationship he wanted.

Blaine was tired of taking his thumb out of his mouth. "Jus' teww him talk wif Sam."

Kurt shook his head. How had he not known about this? He wasn't sure it was a very good idea, but Blaine seemed sure, so they'd talk to Finn. Kurt let the silence go on for a while. He'd stopped rocking, but he still held his little boy close, glad for the cuddles he was getting. However, there was one more thing they needed to talk about. "We need to talk about your tantrum earlier," he said gently.

Blaine tensed in Daddy's arms. He'd completely forgotten he was in trouble. But he had smashed Daddy's foot, so he knew he deserved a punishment. He and Daddy had talked lots and lots about how you couldn't yell and hit when you was mad. He had forgetted 'cuz he was worried about Daddy yeavin' him, but it had still been naughty. So, he resolutely nodded, pushing himself off of Daddy's lap and standing in front of him. "I know it was naughty to hit you. I was mad, but 'm 'posed to use my words and talk wif you when 'm mad. 'm real sorry, Daddy, but 'm ready for my spankin'."

"Now just wait a minute, Kurt told him, surprised at this turn of events. "Who said anything about a spanking?"

"We've talked 'bout not gettin' mad yots and yots," Blaine said, looking down at his toes. "I 'serve it."

"You want me to give you a spanking?" Kurt asked. He had intended to do that before Blaine's meltdown. Now he was just planning on talking about it and having him write a few lines before going to the carnival. But, if Blaine thought that's what he needed, Kurt thought he might have to go along with it. This was progress.

"I don' wan' a spankin'," Blaine explained. "But I 'serve one. Made a naughty choice."

"You did make a naughty choice," Kurt agreed, pulling the boy forward and tilting his chin up to make eye contact. "When you're mad, you can't yell and hit. You can use your words to tell whoever you're mad at that you aren't happy. Yelling and hitting aren't nice choices, though."

"I know," Blaine said, hanging his head with shame. "'m sorry."

"I know you are," Kurt told him, tugging his pants and underwear down and guiding him gently over his lap. "But I hope this spanking helps you think about making better choices next time you get angry." With that, he raised his hand and let it fall smartly on Blaine's left cheek then his right. He wasn't going to give him a full spanking, just a token one to help him get his point across. There had been quite enough tears for one afternoon. So, when his bottom was a light shade of pink, Kurt raised his right knee, making Blaine's sit spots his target for the last few smacks. "Are you going to talk to me next time you're angry instead of yelling and hitting?" he asked.

"Ye-yes, sir," Blaine said, letting out a pained little "ow!" as Daddy's hand smacked down.

Kurt gave a quick five smacks to each sit spot then stopped, resting his hand lightly on Blaine's cheeks. He rubbed gentle, soothing circles there for just a moment. "Good boy," he praised. "You took your spanking really well for me. I'm so proud of you."

Blaine sniffled lightly. He had only cried a little even though that spanking had really hurt. And Daddy's hand felt kind of nice rubbing his bottom, but he wanted to snuggle right now. So, he pushed himself up from Daddy's lap, falling into his open embrace.

Kurt helped him position himself so his bottom was between his knees as he rubbed his back. After a few minutes, he asked, "Are you sleepy?" He could see Blaine rubbing Jack Rabbit against his face as he sucked on his thumb.

Blaine nodded against Daddy's chest. "Uh huh."

"Let's lay down for a little rest, then," Kurt said, reaching over and pulling the covers back. "We'll just rest for a few minutes, and then we'll go to the carnival."

"Yay," Blaine cheered softly, eyes already closing as he got comfy against Daddy's warm side, head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Wan' go carn'val."

"I know, baby. We will," Kurt promised, moving just enough to remove Blaine's pants and underwear from around his ankles. "Close your eyes and rest," he instructed. "When you wake up, we'll go."

"Kay," Blaine mumbled around his thumb, already mostly in dream land.

Kurt smile down at his curly headed boy, running a gentle finger up and down his arm. His life was perfect. He had the perfect husband, his perfect little boy. He could see why Finn would be jealous. Who wouldn't want this? He smiled to himself, leaning his head back against the head board and closing his own eyes. A rest with his baby sounded like exactly what he needed right now.


	8. Goodbye

Blaine was back to his happy-go-lucky self by the end of the week. He'd had a great time at the carnival, requesting that they go to one the next time there was one nearby. Grandpa had won him three stuffed animals, and, as his prize, was forced to take part in Blaine's very special tea party that only Jack Rabbit, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, and his three new friends were invited to. Very exclusive.

Grandma had requested a movie night with her favorite grandson the next evening. She then bravely sat through Lego Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Sound of Music. Despite the fact that he kept falling asleep, Blaine insisted that they finish all of The Sound of Music, so no one, besides Blaine, went to bed before midnight that night.

On their final evening together, Finn had come over and they'd all had a campfire in the back yard. Blaine was ecstatic at the idea of roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over an open flame, another first for him. He listened intently as Grandpa told "scary" stories around the fire after dark and delightedly sang all the campfire songs he knew. He hadn't wanted to go to bed that night, on a high of sugar and energy. He did eventually crash, sleeping like a log until late the next morning.

Kurt was happy to see that Blaine had come around, actually enjoying himself after the terrible start to the week he'd had. He'd even let Finn help him with his hot dog, after Finn apologized, of course. Before Finn had left that evening, the three of them had talked about the possibility of Finn getting in touch with Sam. Finn was open to the idea, taking Sam's number so he could call him later. He promised Kurt he'd take it slow and not jump in to anything too quickly without researching it first. He also promised that he'd talk with Kurt before he talked with Sam; Kurt didn't want Sam being scared off due to no warning or Finn thinking he'd understood something when he hadn't. When it had been time for Finn to go, Blaine had squeezed him tightly, telling him he loved him. He'd waved him out the door with an admonishment to "be nice," which made Finn and Kurt chuckle. All in all, Kurt had decided that their week had gone well. He at least wasn't opposed to trying it again sometime.

Now that it was time to leave, Blaine was very sad. He moped around the house, slowly collecting his discarded toys, books, and sippy cups, taking them upstairs to Daddy to pack.

"What's wrong, bud?" Burt asked, stopping and pulling him into his lap as he started toward the stairs with yet another load of things to pack.

"Don' wanna go home," Blaine complained. "Wanna stay here wif you."

"I don't want you to go home, either," Burt sympathized, giving his little buddy a tight hug. "But you and Daddy have things to do at home. Think about all the stuffed friends you have there that missed that really awesome tea party you threw. They would be sad if you never came home to throw them a tea party."

Blaine giggled. Grandpa was silly. "Yeah," he said. "But I miss you."

"We'll miss you, too," Burt told him. "But guess what?"

"Wha'?" Blaine asked, looking at Grandpa intently.

"It's going to be Christmas in a few months, and I think Grandma and I are going to come visit you at your house. What do you think about that?"

"Yeah!" Blaine was excited. "You can meet all my stuffie friends," he said. "There's Lola, and Tigger, and Oscar, and Daisy and-" He ticked them off on his fingers as he talked.

"Woah. What are you planning with all your stuffies?" Kurt asked, coming down the stairs to see what was keeping Blaine. "Are you going to send them all to Grandpa's house so he can take care of them for a while?"

"No," Blaine scoffed, stopping his list to look at Daddy like he was crazy. "'m gonna have a tea party with Grandpa 'n' Grandma 'n' all my fwiends when they visit for Cwistmas!" he said excitedly.

"Grandma and Grandpa are coming for Christmas?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow at his dad. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah!" Blaine said, hopping off of Grandpa's lap.

"Where are you going?" Grandpa asked. "I wasn't done hugging my favorite grandson."

"I hafta pack," Blaine told him seriously. "Daddy an' I gots to get home so my stuffie friends aren't sad and so we can make you wots and wots of pwesents for Cwistmas!"

"Okay," Grandpa chuckled. "You'd better get packing then. Your time for making Christmas presents is getting shorter and shorter."

"Come on, Daddy!" Blaine cried, tugging at his arm. "We gotta go home so we can make pwesents!"

"Thanks, Dad," Kurt said, rolling his eyes as he followed his excited boy up the stairs.

It didn't take much longer for the boys to finish packing, and after a quick bite of lunch, they shoved everything in the car and got ready to hit the road.

"Do you have all your toys, Blaine?" Kurt asked for the hundredth time. He didn't want anything to get left here that would require them to turn around and come back.

"Uh huh," Blaine said, hugging Jack tightly.

"Good boy. Give Grandma and Grandpa hugs then."

Blaine stood and ran to his grandparents, throwing himself against them and hugging them tightly. "Bye," he whispered, leaning up to give each of them a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at Cwistmas wif yots and yots of pwesents."

"I can't wait," Grandma said, giving him a boop on the nose.

Blaine gave them each one last hug and kiss before following Daddy out the door and climbing into the front seat. Daddy clicked his seat belt in place as he hugged Jack, watching Grandma and Grandpa as they stood on the porch, waving.

Kurt hurried back up to them, giving them each a quick hug. "Bye," he said. "Thanks for having us."

"Thank you for coming and bringing that sweet, sweet boy," Carole said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I can't wait to see the two of you again."

"See you at Christmas," Burt promised, pulling Kurt into another hug before letting him go and watching him climb into the car.

Blaine watched as they pulled out of the driveway, catching the kiss Grandma blew at him and sending one back to her. He continued to watch them out the window until they were out of sight. Then, he looked forward with a sigh, leaning his head back against the head rest.

"You okay, baby?" Kurt asked, reaching over to rub his thigh.

"Yeah. Jus' miss 'em," Blaine said whistfully.

"I know. But Christmas is only a few months away. You'll see them again soon."

"I know." Christmas just seemed like a long way off right now.

The two boys rode in silence for a few minutes. Then Kurt asked, "Did you have fun?"

"Uh huh," Blaine said, nodding. A grin grew on his face as he thought about all the cool things he'd gotten to do. "Grandpa is funny," he told Daddy. "And Grandma's nice. Unca Finn's okay, too."

"You got that right," Kurt agreed.

"I yiked visiting," Blaine went on. "We gots to do yots of fun stuffs. Yike the giant wheew!"

"That was really fun," Kurt agreed. "I'm glad you had a good time, baby." 

They were quiet again for a while. Blaine watched the trees go by outside the window. Soon, he thought he saw something that looked familiar, so he asked, "Are we there yet?"

Kurt chuckled. "No, baby. We have a long way to go. Here." He handed over the iPod. "Turn on some music for us to listen to."

Blaine did as he was told, selecting the Broadway playlist. He smiled mischievously at Daddy, singing loudly as the first few bars of "You're the One That I Want" played through the car speakers.

Daddy rolled his eyes but sang along anyway. It was going to be a long car ride home. But, if his baby was happy, then Daddy would be happy, too.


End file.
